The Dark Years
by blackbeltchic
Summary: Thirteen years after a fateful night patrolling, three young girls must find the courage and power to save the world, fulfil an ancient prophecy, fight old evils, and bring their family back together.-FINALLY COMPLETE
1. Suspicions

The Dark Years  
  
Chapter One: Suspicions  
  
Posted: April 6, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. The only characters that actually are my own, are Faith, Melinda, and Grace. Well, there are others, but those are the three main characters. I am only borrowing characters from the geniuses, Joss Whedon and Constance M. Burge. I promise to return them after I'm through....  
  
*cough*not*cough*  
  
Author's notes: This is the Fourth, and hopefully final part of the ABC crossover series, starting with The End of the World, and the Beginning of the Rest of her Life, the Rest of her Life, and The Next Generation.  
  
But if you've stumbled on here, and you haven't read the other three, do not fret. While I would hope you'd read the other three, here is a quick summery of what's happened so far:  
  
The End of the World: The Scoobies are worrying about the First, Cordelia gets a pecular vision, and the Charmed Ones are having demon problems. With a little help, and a whole lot of luck, Willow, Angel and Cordelia end up in San Francisco at the same time. And that's when these three groups join teams.  
  
They get ready, and defeat the first, helping each other with their own problems. A certain prophecy comes true, and after a long road of recovery, two people get married. And have a daughter.  
  
The Rest of her Life: The gangs are all good friends, and Buffy's daughter and Piper's son are best of friends before they're out of diapers. But as Joyce and Wyatt grow older, Joyce finds herself attracted to her best friend, and a student in England finds a prophecy.  
  
Joyce and Wyatt start dating, and soon are married. But this isn't the end, it's just the beginning.  
  
The Next Generation: Wyatt and Joyce are married, and they finish college, and get jobs. Usual adult things. But they also want kids. So when Wyatt finds out that Joyce is pregnant, things couldn't be better! Except the Elders won't let him tell her. And he now also knows information about his or her birth that he can't share with anyone. With this secret between them, the happy couple grows apart.  
  
The day comes, and the babies are born, in a most catastrophic way. But Joyce and Wyatt are still at odds with each other. Do they have time to reconcile?  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
REFRESHER COURSE:  
  
Wyatt waited for her to come home from patrolling. He tried to seem nonchalant, watching TV, making her a snack, reading the Book of Shadows, and writing an entry on hellmouths and slayers, but by midnight, he forwent trying to look like he wasn't waiting, and began to pace. She had said she'd just be gone an hour.  
  
Sometime during the night he fell asleep on the couch.  
  
"So she didn't come home last night?" all three women had heard the girls crying the next morning. Paige rocked Faith, Phoebe had Melinda, and Piper soothed Grace.  
  
"That's what it looks like. He's down sleeping on the couch." Leo handed each woman a warm bottle, a worried expression on his face. "Can you handle things here? I'd better go look for her."  
  
"Would you take Jason with you? He feels left out when family stuff happens." Phoebe told him.  
  
"Sure. I'll be back later.  
  
"What should we do about Wyatt?" Paige asked.  
  
"Leave him for now. Hopefully Leo can find her before he wakes up." Piper said.  
  
"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Phoebe voiced everyone's concerns.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Welcome to the Dark Ages," she said, as she turned from the vision of the three sisters. She looked at the unconscious woman hanging in space, and smiled. Nothing would ruin her plans this time.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
AND HERE'S THE REAL STORY:  
  
"We're off to school!" the oldest cried, as her two sisters shouldered their bags.  
  
"Bye Aunt Piper, bye Aunt Paige, Bye Aunt Phoebe!"  
  
"Do you have your lunches?"  
  
The middle girl sighed. "Lunches." She murmured, and the three brown paper bags fell into her arms. "Yes Aunt Piper!"  
  
"Don't use magick for household chores!"  
  
"Sorry Uncle Leo!"  
  
"We really have to go now, or we'll be late!" the youngest called.  
  
"Have fun!" the five adults called.  
  
"We will! We always do!" they walked up the steps to the first landing. "Show us now what's always been." They recited, and the door appeared in the wall. The door opened and they stepped through. The door closed behind them  
  
A woman with long brown hair came down the stairs with a laundry basket full of laundry. She looked happy enough, going about her daily chores, but there was a deep sadness that could be found in all of the eyes of the adults she lived with.  
  
"They never clean up after themselves." She sighed, seeing the door still in the wall. "Hide from us now what always will be." The door disappeared and she continued on her way down cellar.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Guys, it's getting worse." Grace told her sisters at lunch, "I don't know if I can take it anymore." She was close to tears  
  
"Grace, it's like this every year. You always pull through it's no different. You can do this." Faith said, peeling her orange.  
  
"But three months is a long time, Faith, with all of that depression!" Grace had always been the sensitive one, so it had been no surprise, when they had gotten their powers back that she had been the empathic one. She could heal, like Uncle Leo, and she had visions, like Aunt Phoebe.  
  
"Has anyone ever wondered why they're so depressed?" Melinda asked, eating her banana. She looked innocent enough, with her blue eyes and light blond hair, the hair they all shared, but she was the one that always got them in trouble, coming up with schemes. "It's not just the Halliwells, it's Grams and Grampy too. Even Aunt Willow, and all the other England Gang. Giles, Oz, Dawn, Ron, Ash, Annie, William. Then it's Uncle Spike, Andrea and Amanda. Something big happened. They're keeping something from us."  
  
"Like what?" Faith, ever the practical one asked.  
  
"When they look at us, like during Christmas, and birthdays, all I sense is pity. Do you think it has something to do with Mom and Dad?" The three girls knew that they were never to talk of their parents around the adults. It had different effects on all of them, but all were unwanted. The general response from Grammy Summers and their aunts was to start crying. Grams and Aunt Piper would leave the room in tears, and lock themselves in the bathroom. Grampa and Uncle Leo would get teary eyed and have to go check on something. Their other uncles, and Grampy's friends would clear their throats, cough, and shuffle from side to side.  
  
"I bet we could get Uncle Spike to tell us." Melinda said, "And have you noticed that half these people aren't even related to us? Aunt Piper and uncle Leo are Daddy's parents. So why don't we call them Gram and Grampa?"  
  
"Do you really think he'd tell us?" The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and the end of their conversation. They all went off to their classes, each having different powers and different strengths.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Good night girls. Sleep tight." Aunt Piper said, turning off the light. They waited until she went downstairs, before turning on their bedside lamps  
  
Faith, who had minimal control over time, meaning she could freeze things, and she was learning to blow them up as well, froze both of her sister's beds. The only glitch with freezing was she couldn't freeze a witch. The two sets of blankets would be frozen for about an hour, and nobody would now the difference if they just peeked their heads in. her two younger sisters orbed out of their beds, and Grace got into hers, and she froze hers as well. Now they were set to go.  
  
Melinda looked at her sister's handy work and smiled. No one would know they were gone.  
  
They took a hold of each other's hands, and orbed to Uncle Spike's apartment.  
  
"What in the blazes are you three doing out of the manor? It's not safe and you know it!" He glared at the three thirteen year olds.  
  
"We have some very important questions for you." Faith, being the oldest, and self proclaimed leader told him.  
  
"Why me?" He asked suspiciously. He knew these three well, and they were generally up to something.  
  
"Because no one else will give us the answers." Sweet little Grace looked up at him with her huge brown eyes.  
  
"Oh, alright, but make it snappy, your grandmother'll have my head if she finds out."  
  
"Why is everyone so depressed this time of year? Every March, April and May. And we all feel it, whether we're empathic or not." Faith said matter of factly.  
  
"It was 13 years ago, March 1st, when you three, your mum, and your dad moved into the manor, to live with your Grandparents. March 2nd, the story goes, your mum went out patrolling-"  
  
"She was a slayer," Melinda interrupted.  
  
"Right. She never came back. Leo, Paige, Sam, and your dad spent March, and April, searching the globe, looking for her. Leo even got some other whitelighters to help. They never even found a trail. Sometime in May, your dad went up there, for good. He couldn't handle living without your mum."  
  
"Why is this the first we've heard of this? It's our parents, we deserve to know these things!" Ever sensitive Grace was about to cry.  
  
"No one talks about them anymore. The silence is what broke your Gram and Grampa Summers apart. Me and Andrea are just barely together these days, and Amanda and her steady boyfriend broke up. He wanted her to move on, get over loosing her sister, and move to New York with him, but none of them have ever moved on. Andrea cries at night, at least when I can get her to stay over here. Your Grand mum's the same."  
  
"I-is she dead?"  
  
"No one knows. Piper's tried again and again to summon her spirit, but it won't work. And Grams and Patty, your great and great-great grand mums can't find her on the Ghost Roads, but there are thousands of Heavenly and Hell-like dimensions out there. They've asked the previous slayers to help, but no one's found anything. No one knows."  
  
"Thank you, Uncle Spike," Grace hugged him, "for being straight with us." The other two came over and hugged him as well. "We have to get back, before they find out."  
  
"Sleep tight, half Pints." He watched as the three girls orbed back home.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
It's short, I know. Here are Reader Responses to the three before this, if I have any new reviews....  
  
TrickStarr: Yes, the cliffhanger was evil. I'm surprised more people haven't said that. I hope you like what I've dome so far, but I can't guarantee everything. Some things just wouldn't work. But I'll work on the ones that will!  
  
BAshipper: I've hurried up, ok! I have a feeling you might not be to happy with me after this chapter, I'm not happy with myself, personally, but Everything must be resolved eventually!  
  
Bluie: lol. Yes, Spike is human. I just had to. He was the only one who hadn't changed.  
  
There you go, hope everyone is happy that I updated, if not happy at what I've done...But things should come out alright in the end!  
  
At least, I hope so.....  
  
*now worried...* 


	2. Prophecies and Knowledge

The Dark Years  
  
Part Two: Prophecies and Knowledge  
  
Origional Post Date: April 16th, 2004  
  
I just realized this chapter didn't have a post date! Shame on Me!  
  
Author's notes: Ok, this is literally all I have, but it's been awhile, so I've decided to give it all to you. I hope you all like it, it's very long, but it all seems to fit together, and I think it would be mean, and not of the best quality if I didn't keep it together.  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Going through the archive vaults, and so I might have already replied to these, since there are some for other parts of the ABC series, but I'll do them anyway!  
  
pokes around in archives... jeesh! There are lots of reviews for One of a Kind, guess I should update, lol!  
  
TNG: Bluie: I think I've already done this, but yes, Spike's human, lol!  
  
removes flag  
  
Bluie again, only this time for this story: If you've read them once, then you shouldn't have to read them again. If anyone should reread them, I should. There are twists and turns in there I might have forgot. My muse overloads me with ideas and problems, I'll be lucky if I get half of them fixed! And tell me about it, if I had five, six more hours, I could get every thing done AND not be so tired!  
  
BAShipper: I'm always hard on myself, which guarantees that I try my best. I'm glad you liked it, and we'll be answering your question soon.  
  
After my muse gives me the answer, that is!  
  
And that's it for reviews! Now I can post! YAYAY!!!  
  
And for any that care, I've thrown in a new power I couldn't have before, since they were only babies, hehehe!  
  
Oh, I forgot to mention, if anybody who's reading this read Is Daddy an Angel, and liked it, then be looking for Stolen Innocence, started by a challenge from GidgetGirl! It's a great story, if I am allowed to say so myself! Lol.  
  
The next morning, they didn't rush off to school early to score the very back seats. Instead, they cooked breakfast for everyone, a massive amount of eggs, cooking for eight people.  
  
"What do you want?" Piper asked after she saw the piles of egg and home fries on the table.  
  
"It's more like what'd they do?" Phoebe came in right behind her.  
  
"We just want to spend time with our family. We appreciate all that you've done for us." Melinda said sincerely.  
  
"What'd you do?" Paige said, coming up behind her two older sisters, "Are you failing any classes?"  
  
"No." Grace said, sounding, as usual, as if she was about to cry. The information about their parents the night before, and now the suspicion rolling off them in waves was almost too much for the thirteen year old. Both Faith and Melinda took a hold of one of her hands, giving her strength. "We found out about mom." Grace finally whispered.  
  
"Oh, honey." Now she felt the pity from her aunts.  
  
"Stop! Stop pitying us! All I get from you, all the time is pity! When we go to the store, everyone looks at us, and whispers, and they pity us too! Everyone knew but us, and I can't take it anymore!" Grace cried.  
  
"Oh, baby. I understand." Phoebe went over and hugged her nephew's youngest daughter, by three minutes. "It drove me crazy when I first became empathic. We could...There's this spell, that we could do, so you couldn't read us, or your sisters."  
  
"But even we pick it up. We feel how everyone treats us, and we didn't understand why."  
  
"We had a right to know," Melinda accused, "They're our parents, and you let us go on living without any idea of what happened! We didn't understand why everyone would whisper behind our backs, and shy away from us. Even in school, where half the kids live there, it's unusual for kids to live with their Grandmother. Everyone has parents to go home to for breaks. And they talk about us, behind our backs."  
  
"If I had known..." Piper started.  
  
"But you never asked!" Melinda cried in outrage.  
  
"Can we just sit down and eat? We're going to be late for school otherwise." Faith said, trying to keep the betrayal from her voice. She was close to tears herself. The three girls had always been curious about their parentage, but she wouldn't learn about them at the cost of her family's harmony.  
  
They sat in silence while Faith served everyone. It was just the six girls, since Uncle Jason hadn't gotten up yet. Halfway through the meal, Grace put her fork down, "Aunt Piper, you're daddy's mom, right? So why do we call you Aunt Piper, and Not Grammy Piper?"  
  
"I thought that maybe it would ease the pain. Joyce was like a daughter to me, and loosing her hurt me more than I ever thought it would, that's your mother, but your dad...he decided to leave. It was his choice, and that hurt more than anything."  
  
Dad's alive? Faith almost shrieked, and her two sisters looked at her sharply.  
  
I guess so. But what happened to mom? Grace asked her two sisters silently.  
  
Ask! You're the only one they'll answer questions for. You're the youngest, and you have the face. Faith thought this funny, since they were identical triplets.  
  
Only by three minutes. Grace pouted, but she turned back to her grandmother.  
  
"C-Could we call you Gram? And you Grampa?" she turned to Leo, who had come down sometime earlier.  
  
She sighed, "Yes, it hasn't worked. I'll always remember his betrayal, of you three."  
  
"Our mom died when I was two," Aunt Phoebe elaborated, "And dad left soon after, leaving Grams to take care of us and raise us. Wyatt had always been close to his Grandfather. We had thought he would have learned..."  
  
"I-Is mom dead? What happened to her?"  
  
"We don't know. No one can find her, anywhere. She's just disappeared."  
  
"So, she might be still alive?" Faith asked.  
  
"Don't get your hopes up, girls. We've spent so much time and energy searching for her, and we haven't found anything. We don't even know what route she took for patrol."  
  
I-I feel like I can feel her. I don't think she's dead Grace looked at her two older sisters.  
  
"C-Could we see him?" Faith asked, "O-Our dad."  
  
"Oh, uh..."  
  
"Sweetie, I don't think that's such a good idea." Phoebe started.  
  
"I. Want. To. See. My. Dad!" Melinda said slowly. Both Faith and Grace moved their chairs away from their sister, feeling an oncoming outburst.  
  
"Sweetie, he's not exactly in his right mind. Being up there can do that-"  
  
"I don't care. He's still my father, and I want to see him."  
  
"I can see if I can get him down here. We've tried before, but for you three, I'll try again." Leo stood up. He orbed up, and even before he was gone, the three girls were out of their chairs and rushing towards the kitchen.  
  
Piper, Phoebe and Paige looked at each other, then followed. The three girls were sitting on the floor; Grace held a bowl of water between her knees. As the sisters watched, Grace muttered over the bowl, and Melinda dropped one of Leo's good watches into the bowl. Faith held each of her sister's shoulders, strengthening the link between them.  
  
"He-"Piper started to protest, she had bought that watch, after all, but Phoebe stopped her.  
  
The water in the bowl clouded over, and the three adults leaned over to see over the younger girls' shoulders.  
  
"Leo, you shouldn't be up here." A tan robed man stopped him.  
  
"Enyos, I have to. His girls need a father."  
  
"They need a mother."  
  
"W-we haven't totally given up. One of the sisters scry for her once a week, sometimes more. But with no clues, what options do we have?"  
  
"They should spend their time teaching the girls. You know the prophecy."  
  
"Bu-I thought it was wrong...it said The Child. They are triplets."  
  
"And only one shall. Prophecies are fickle things, Leo. They do not tell the whole story, merely the cliff notes. Be brief. He wishes to suffer in solitude." Leo was about to argue, but the Elder turned away. Leo walked to the doors, and pulled them open.  
  
"What do you want?" the lone figure asked as he closed the doors.  
  
"Its not what I want, its what your family needs."  
  
"I have no family."  
  
"Yes, you do! You have three gorgeous daughters that need you, because you are their father!"  
  
"No one needs me. I couldn't even save her, heed the warnings, what use am I to anyone?" his voice was flat, dead, with no emotion. It hurt Leo just to look at him.  
  
"Wyatt, please. Those three girls need a father."  
  
"I'm no father. To them, or anyone."  
  
A tear fell into the bowl, and the water clouded over, obscuring the picture, and ending the spell. Grace upset the bowl as she, followed closely by her two sisters, rushed out of the room, grabbing a lunch as they pushed by.  
  
Leo orbed in a few minutes later, as the three women just stared at the bowl. They hadn't heard any of it, but just Wyatt's appearance had depressed them. And by the girl's reactions, they knew he wasn't coming.  
  
"I tried. I'm sorry. Where are the girls?"  
  
"They went to school, they saw, Leo. Grace did some sort of scrying, and they saw it all."  
  
"Oh no." he hung his head. "Should we go after them?"  
  
"No. If a girl runs from home, to school, then she doesn't want her aunts around. Trust me on this one." Paige said.  
  
"I feel bad for them. We could always hang onto that shrivel of hope, you know? But they.... he's never coming back."  
  
Melinda slid into the seat in the front row, center, without a sound, or even acknowledgement that her usual seat had been taken. The teacher, seeing the unshed tears clinging vainly to her eyes, took pity on the usual bossy, outspoken, strong willed girl.  
  
"What prophecy do you think they were talking about?" Faith asked.  
  
"I don't know. They probably won't tell us. Even Spike."  
  
"We have to get her back." Grace whispered.  
  
"No one knows what happened, Grace, if they can't find her, how can we?"  
  
"She's our mother! We can't give up. She's not dead. I know it."  
  
"We'll do what we can, Grace, don't worry."  
  
"We're going to have to study extra hard." Faith warned her two sisters, mostly Melinda.  
  
"Then I'd better do my homework, shouldn't I?" Melinda asked, digging into her bag.  
  
"Aunt Phoebe, are you busy?" she knocked on her Aunt's door.  
  
"No, baby, come on in."  
  
"I-I'm sorry about this morning. We never meant to hurt any of you. You're the only family we know." She sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
"No, you and your sisters were right. You deserved to know. I'm sorry it took us so long to realize that."  
  
"I-I want to learn to use my powers better. I have a feeling that's what daddy would have wanted."  
  
"He only wants what's best for you. And he thinks that by staying away from you, that is the best thing he can do."  
  
"He's wrong. C-Could you teach me?"  
  
"Of course, we'll start tomorrow, ok?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
A-Gram? Can I talk to you about something?" She stood in the doorway to her grandmother's room, where she was folding clothes.  
  
"Always. What's up?"  
  
"S-seeing dad like that, it made me realize just how important it is for me to know how to use my powers. And we share most powers, could you teach me to use mine better?"  
  
"Of course, Faith. I have to start supper soon, but what about after school and homework, tomorrow?"  
  
"Ok." She smiled.  
  
"Great. I'm really glad you asked me."  
  
"I love you gram." She hugged her grandmother.  
  
"I love you too, Faith."  
  
"Aunt Paige?" She stood at the kitchen door.  
  
"Yeah, Mel?" Paige looked up from her tea.  
  
"I know I haven't been the best niece, or the best student. I was wondering...could you help me? I really want to learn to use my powers better. Grace and Faith are going to eventually pass me by, and..." she didn't know how to voice her fears.  
  
"Sure, I'll help you. Though Leo would be the better one to go to, but I'm delightedly surprised that you asked. I wasn't always the upstanding citizen when I was your age, you know. It took loosing my adoptive parents to make me shape up my act. For the longest time, I was way behind Piper and Phoebe, they had been at it so much longer, I just wanted to fit in."  
  
"But you're so good! You know how to use your powers really well."  
  
"It takes a lot of hard work." Paige warned.  
  
"That's ok. Everything in this world generally is." Paige had to laugh at that.  
  
The three girls met on the stairs, and headed into the solarium.  
  
"Grampa?" All three said at once. He started, and the vase he was moving dropped. Faith froze it without thinking, and Melinda orbed it back to their grandfather.  
  
"Sorry." Grace mumbled.  
  
"Girls, what can I help you with?"  
  
"We want to learn about our powers." Grace told him.  
  
"Gram, Aunt Paige, and Aunt Phoebe are going to help us with our individual powers, but you're the only one who can heal. And your Grams whitelighter."  
  
"Aunt Paige can help us all with our orbing, but we still need your help." Faith told him.  
  
"Will you help us?"  
  
"Sure, how about after supper for half an hour or so, starting tomorrow?" The three girls nodded, thanked him, and left.  
  
A massive improvement was seen in the three girls' schoolwork over the next couple of weeks, and at the end of the term, all three made honor role, Faith high honors. Friday night, they went to their grandmother's house, to eat supper with her and their real aunts.  
  
Grace helped in the kitchen, while Faith and Melinda took turns playing with Joshua, their one and a half year old cousin.  
  
"I'm so proud of you girls. I never imagined that all three of you would be geniuses." Buffy said, as Grace set out plates.  
  
"We had initiative." Grace said absently.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"We...learned about Joyce. And Wyatt. I-I'm really sorry, Gram." She said, her throat closing up in that familiar way. Buffy set down her serving spoon.  
  
"What else did you learn?"  
  
"About why you and Grampa split up." She said quietly.  
  
"That had nothing to do with you." She hastened to tell her granddaughter.  
  
"No, but it had something to do with Mom. Both of you are hurting, really bad. And it's not just because of Mom."  
  
"After she disappeared, I just couldn't deal. I shut down. And I know you're never supposed to have favorites among your kids, but your mother was my first little girl, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that anything would happen to her. She was the strong one." She ran a hand through her graying hair. "Your grandfather had been having a midlife crisis before that, and it all came to a head not soon after she was gone. Everyone deals with things differently, and we couldn't handle the way the other dealed." She fell into thoughtful silence, so Grace let her think, almost overwhelmed with the pain she felt from her grandmother.  
  
Later on, they all sat at the table, talking animatedly about school, and this and that. But Grace could still feel the undercurrent of pain and grief. And from the way her two sisters held their shoulders, she could tell they felt it too. Many times people would smile, but it never reached their eyes, even Uncle Spike, who was holding Joshua on his lap.  
  
"Um...I have something for you girls. I started it a long time ago, and just got around to finishing it." Buffy got up from the table, and came back a few minutes later, with a large book. "I know it's not as nice as your grandmother's, but I wanted you to have the knowledge, in case you ever needed it." She set it in front of the three girls, and they poured through it.  
  
"Gram! This is awesome!" Faith exclaimed, looking at the detailed information, a few entries accompanied by drawings, that she knew were her grandfather's. As the book went on, there were fewer and fewer drawings.  
  
The three girls got up and hugged their grandmother. "We'll cherish it forever!" Grace told her.  
  
"There's room in there to, to add things."  
  
"Thanks!" They hugged their grandmother once more, then rushed back to pour over the book once more, Amanda and Andrea joining them. They all had a laugh at the picture of Spike in the book, who protested at ever looking as he was portrayed. 


	3. First Copy Kats

The Dark Years  
  
Part Three: First Copy Kats  
  
Posted: June 4, 2004  
  
Author's notes: OMG!! I'm so sorry guys! It's been literally forever since I last updated! 4/16/04! Yeesh! I just want to say thanks to Brad/leodalyon073 for reviewing. I have been having the worst writer's block for this silly story, and with school, and writing Stolen Innocence, and now a new story I'm focusing on... my muse is actually exhausted by the end of the day, and so am I!  
  
Also, things have been...difficult around here lately. If anyone is still following the drama/soap opera that has become my life, my dad is currently on his way to Texas with his new girlfriend...last I knew, they were in Jackson, maybe with a ville, Tennesee.  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Brad: I just want to say, once more, thanks for reminding me! Here is your requested update!!! If it wasn't for your update, then I would have forgotten, or kept forgetting my devilish plans for Joyce! And, sorry, you're just gonna have to figure out what happened to her on your own!  
  
And I think that is it for reviews! pouts momentarily Oh well...on with the update!!!  
  
START OF UPDATE  
  
Remind me to email ff.net about this problem about deleting my spacers...if it still happens...  
  
The three girls sat up late by candlelight, one Friday night. They had just come back from seeing Grampa Summers, in his tiny apartment in LA. Grace had said that he was more depressed than before, if possible. Maybe growing old without their grandmother was taking its toll. They barely ever saw him anymore, he was always burying himself in work, and now they knew why.  
  
Now they were taking the next step, and calling spirits. They weren't allowed to ever do it, but they needed information.  
  
"Spirit from the other side  
  
Cross now the Great Divide" they chanted in a whisper, surrounded by candlelight.  
  
The figure emerged from glowing dots and lights.  
  
"Well, I was wondering when you three would get around to calling me." She teased. "You guys look so much like your mother," she breathed.  
  
"How are you?" Grace asked, always one for pleasantries, surprised, though happy, that she couldn't read ghosts.  
  
"Good, considering. I'm terribly sorry about your mom, though. She was the best friend I ever had."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"I've been searching up there for her, but there's no sign of her anywhere. With all of your dad's ancestors searching, and your mom's entire family, and all the slayers, we've covered a lot of the dimensions over the years, but there are millions of paths on the Ghost Roads. A soul could be easily lost."  
  
"C-Could you tell us about her? Nobody talks about her. Or dad. Only Uncle Spike, and only if he's in a good mood."  
  
"Hmm...didn't meet him. Your mom was my roommate for three years, and I was apart of her wedding. She was so happy when she learned she was pregnant. I'm sorry I never really got to meet you, in real life. We graduated, and your mom went and worked with your dad and your grandfather, and I went on to medical school. We lost touch for a long time, until she called to say she was pregnant. It had sounded like she and your dad were having some petty newly-wed squabble, and she hoped that the baby...well, you guys, would bring them closer together."  
  
"But what was mom like?" Melinda interrupted.  
  
"When I first met her, she was secretive. But I wasn't much better. She'd generally come home around eight, grab a duffle bag she kept locked in her false bottom trunk. That's probably around here somewhere. Then she'd leave, and not come back until after I'd gone to bed. But she was always there by the time I got up for my early morning classes. For a while, I thought she was into something that wasn't...too good, but she didn't have the rep as a person to do that sort of thing. She didn't have a reputation at all."  
  
"What changed?" Faith prodded.  
  
"She got...hurt, and I had my suspicions from the start. Because of my chemo, few vampires wanted a taste, and night was the only time I could be outside. The sun hurt my eyes, and almost physically because of the drugs. And I'm not stupid enough not to notice a false bottom trunk when I see one. The night she got hurt, she had left the keys, and I...I went through her stuff. Not saying I was proud of it or anything, and when I asked her about it, she came clean. We've been...we were good friends from then on."  
  
"What were she and Dad like, together?" Grace asked, the romantic.  
  
"Everyone knew they were madly in love. Joyce would joke about how they had been best friends since they were in diapers, and it sounds cliché, like a Lifetime movie, or something, or a cheesy teen romance novel, but it was true. I think your dad had dated for a while, before your mom and he started going out, but she hadn't been allowed to date beforehand, and after that first date, that was it. They didn't date a single person after that. It was really sweet. And the wedding was perfectly tasteful. It was held downstairs, in the solarium, and your mom was gorgeous in white, and we, the bridesmaids, were in lilac purple, and the air smelled of summer, and flowers. And your dad was so handsome." They drank in every word.  
  
"We've seen the pictures," Faith murmured, and she could almost see their smiling faces once again, looking out at them from the photos.  
  
"But it's not the same, I know. Well, for everyone's sake, I hope you find her. And you will always have my prayers. Having a ghost on your side can be an advantage."  
  
"Thanks Sarah, we're going to need it."  
  
"Bye, good luck!"  
  
"Bye! Thanks!" after she was gone, they each blew out a candle, put them back in their school supplies, and slipped into bed.  
  
"She was nice," Faith commented in the dark.  
  
"Yeah, I see why mom liked her. But she died so young. How did she die, anyway?" Grace asked.  
  
"Freak car accident, I think," Faith answered.  
  
"But we're still no closer to finding her," Melinda said pessimistically. They all knew whom she was referring to.  
  
"Don't give up. We'll find her. I can feel it."  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"Ooo! Goody!" She clapped daintily, looking at the woman hanging limply in space in front of her. Doohickeys and whatcha-macallits hung from the body. Her ancient mind couldn't grasp the technology of it, but that's what minions were for.  
  
It had taken longer than expected, and yet not so much, thirteen long years in this hell, for their complex scheme to unfold. She wanted her to forget, and it was even harder to erase her morals, and for the new ones to take hold. And even harder still to make her forget her training, her purpose, to make her accept the brainwashing, and not fight the not knowing, but it seemed they finally had the right chemical balances, and she was finally ready for her task.  
  
She shifted from the image of the crazy vampire; she didn't feel like being crazy anymore, to a petite blond number, much more suited for the seriousness at hand. She waved her hand and the woman was released from the bonds that held her, and she crumpled to the floor.  
  
The woman picked herself up with the grace of her kind, and stood sharply at attention.  
  
"This is your first target." She handed her the glossy photo that another minion had taken. "Don't let me down, slayer."  
  
"I won't, Mom." She bowed her head, shimmering out of their dimension, the one she was stuck in, while her minions came and left as they pleased.  
  
"She remembers this form. Why does she remember?" she asked a quailing minion.  
  
"Strong emotion bonds, such as that between mother and daughter are almost impossible to sever, my liege." He bowed.  
  
"Never mind that. It could turn out to be in our favor. Your blunder will be overlooked."  
  
"Thank you, Most Holy one."  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
She shimmered back, and knelt before her Dark Goddess, now wearing a dark haired number, who liked wild nights and dressing dirty.  
  
"The deed is done, My Lady."  
  
"About time."  
  
"I tried my best to do the task in a timely fashion, oh Mother Darkness."  
  
"Well, that's not good enough. Next time you shall do your best, and better, Slayer. Here is your next assignment. But first, we have a ritual we must do." She summoned her high priests forward.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"Buffy, we have a problem." The red head, now with shots of gray told her best friend, pacing her living room, where the rest of her extended family sat.  
  
"What type of trouble?" the mostly gray haired woman asked. She hadn't the heart to keep up with dying her hair since she lost her daughter.  
  
"Six fatal attacks on girls, from the ages of four to 12. When we first got the reports, we thought nothing of it. But Ash dug up some ancient watcher mumbo jumbo," there was a protest from the background, "and four of the six girls were destined to become slayers. Two of them actually had watchers. The watchers are missing, assumed dead at this point in time. If this continues, with the slayer line changing every five years or so, this could be a serious problem."  
  
"Someone's copying the First? How lame," she said into the cordless phone.  
  
"Yeah, but the killings aren't Bringers, or at least not Bringer style. All were done by slitting the throat, the four younger girls facing the attacker, and the two older girls from behind. This killer's not afraid of a bit of blood splatter." Ashley said on the extension.  
  
"So, do we round them all up again? You can't possibly have an entire list of potentials."  
  
"Actually, the Council employed a powerful seer in the late 1700's. The list goes until 3000, and so far it's been 95% accurate as to who the slayer shall be, and what year she shall be called, except for your calling, and all the callings after you, and, of course, Joy-...her calling." They all knew whom Ahsley meant. "The list is extensive, with the birth date, and accurate surname of each girl. The only inaccuracies would be if the parents were divorced, or the child orphaned, or adopted. The list actually caused a lot of damage in the mid 1850's, when Spike and Drusilla- "  
  
"Ok, Giles Junior, I get it." Buffy said, laughing. Though her beloved watcher had died a couple years ago, Ashley reminded her of her British seudo-father. "Lets start rounding up all the girls on the list, and any others that you know of. Invite them to a...summer camp, a private summer camp, for gifted girls. Or something to that effect. Angel still owns that stupid hotel; I can talk him into letting us use it for the summer. Hopefully this will all blow over by then. Make the trip sound fun, to interest the girls, and yet educational enough to interest the parents. Do whatever you have to. $300 flat fee for the summer, for those that can afford it, and a scholarship for those that can't."  
  
"Courtesy of your wonderful pals at the Watcher's Council, I got it. We'll come up with something creative." Willow said, "Oh, and uh, Buffy? What do you think about inviting Faith, Mel, and Grace?"  
  
"Why?" She was now suspicious.  
  
"There's still the prophecy, and they are the three most powerful witches around, second only to Piper, Phoebe and Paige, and that will change as soon as they come into their powers. They could be in grave danger."  
  
"The Halliwells can handle it. I trust them."  
  
"You are a close third, mom." Ashley said quietly. Willow began to bluster, denying her oldest's claim.  
  
"Will, it's getting late here, and both the girls are out. I need to go put Josh to bed. Are we done here?"  
  
"Yeah. Bye, Buffy. We love you."  
  
"I love you guys too."  
  
END OF UPDATE  
  
Well, there you have it, the long awaited next bit to the story! Once again, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting! I have to go to bed now, gotta get up to babysit tomorrow, but I hope you guys like this, and review lots!! Lol..  
  
Blackbeltchic  
  
I just won Best Web Mistress Fluffy Spuffy Awards!   
  
I feel special! 


	4. The Secret's Out

The Dark Years  
  
Part Four- The Secret's Out  
  
Disclaimer: see first chapter  
  
Originally Posted: June 23, 2004  
  
Author's Notes: Ok, this is ALL that I have, because it's been forever since I've updated, and I'm going to my dad's for three weeks. I don't know when I'll have enough to update again, but I'll try. And you get a crash course in Slayer history! Lol...you'll see what I'm talking about...  
  
July 26, 2004- I had the wrong Part number, and was confusing myself!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
leodalyon073: Ok, first off, thanks for the review. Secondly...it was Drusilla, but it's not. I can't remember the specifics of a certain spell, but no Spike does not know. He is suffering just as much as everyone else. He really loves Andrea, not the fake love he had for her mother, and she won't marry him, even though they have a child, because she feels she can't leave her mother and her sister. If you check the last chapter, Joyce calls the figure MOM. PART OF PREVIOUS CHAPTER: She shifted from the image of the crazy vampire; she didn't feel like being crazy anymore, to a petite blond number, much more suited for the seriousness at hand. She waved her hand and the woman was released from the bonds that held her, and she crumpled to the floor.  
  
The woman picked herself up with the grace of her kind, and stood sharply at attention. "This is your first target." She handed her the glossy photo that another minion had taken. "Don't let me down, slayer." "I won't, Mom." She bowed her head, shimmering out of their dimension, the one she was stuck in, while her minions came and left as they pleased.  
  
"She remembers this form. Why does she remember?" she asked a quailing minion. "Strong emotion bonds, such as that between mother and daughter are almost impossible to sever, my liege." He bowed. "Never mind that. It could turn out to be in our favor. Your blunder will be overlooked."  
  
This particular passage will be crucial in coming chapters. If you don't get it now, you will later...  
  
Bluie: Thanks for the congrats, and thanks for reviewing!  
  
"Guys, I thought up another person we could summon, who'd know mom," Melinda said a couple days later.  
  
"We have to be careful," Grace said, "If Grams or Grampa found out, they'd be really mad."  
  
"We'll be careful, Grace. Don't worry. Who do you have in mind, Giles. He died when we were six, but he must have known mom, he was a watcher. Gram's watcher."  
  
"But he's authority. Don't you think he'll tell Grampa?" Grace asked.  
  
"No, he sounds like a really great guy. Grams wasn't so together girl when she was younger."  
  
"But would he definitely know mom?"  
  
"He was the one that told Gram and Grampa Summers, that Mom was going to be a slayer."  
  
"How do you know all this?" Faith asked suspiciously.  
  
"I asked Aunt Paige about mom, just a few questions, about how she became the slayer."  
  
Faith shook her head, surprised that they hadn't been caught in the act yet. "So, we're agreed that we're going to summon this Mr. Giles?" they all nodded, "Friday night?"  
  
Piper was idly twirling the crystal, almost with no expectance to find anything, after so long trying. The crystal dropped on Budapest, and she just stared in shock.  
  
"Leo!" she called shakily.  
  
"What?" he came into the room.  
  
"I-I was scrying. Not really looking to find anything...A-And..." she pointed.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I think it found Joyce."  
  
"Don't tell the girls. Or your sisters. They don't need to know, if it ends up being wrong." She nodded. "Try it again, and if you get her, then we'll check it out." She nodded, sitting up to begin scrying once more. "Don't worry, baby, we'll find her."  
  
"I know," Piper murmured, swinging the crystal.  
  
Half an hour later, she was fed up, and pissed off.  
  
"It can't be her, and yet it has to be!" she told Leo once he came to check up on her, "It's jumping all over the globe, and then it disappears."  
  
"We'll try again later."  
  
"Those girls need a mother NOW Leo!"  
  
"I know, I know," he placated her, as she put her head in her hands to hide her tears.  
  
The three girls were doing homework around the table in their room, when something went through them, it seemed. Each stopped, Faith in the middle of a complex math problem, and Mel in the middle of a sentence. Grace dropped her pencil completely; it rolled off the table and landed on the floor.  
  
"Did you feel that?" she whispered. They nodded. "It was Mom, wasn't it?" they shrugged. They waited, but it didn't come again.  
  
"We have to find her, you guys. She's out there, somewhere."  
  
"We will, Grace. Don't worry," Faith told her.  
  
"But I always do. That's my job, I think. To worry."  
  
"No, it's Grams job to worry. It's our job to make her worry," Melinda joked, trying to ease the tension.  
  
"That not funny!" Grace said, pouting.  
  
"Yes, it is. We all know that Grams is super worry wort. It's her job," Melinda defended herself. They all went back to the homework. Grace went to pick up her pencil, but it was missing. After picking up all of her books and papers, looking for the stupid pencil, and not finding it, she looked on the floor, and there it was, under Mel's chair.  
  
"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless. Angel speaking."  
  
"Angel. Something's going on. Could we use the hotel?"  
  
"Buffy? What's going on?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Someone's targeting potentials again."  
  
"Like the First was?"  
  
"Yes," she sighed. "We're gonna round them all up again, Ashley found this Master List thing. We'll keep them all in one place, until we know what's targeting them, and how I kill it."  
  
"Buffy, there's a reason slayers generally don't live as long as you have. A human body, as it ages, cannot deal with the stress that comes with the strength of the slayer."  
  
"I know what I'm doing. I've been patrolling every night for the past ten years."  
  
"What? Why? There are others that can and should do that. You put yourself in needless danger." Though they had divorced because of mutual grief, he still cared deeply for his ex-wife, his only true love.  
  
"Because I can't give up hope," she whispered.  
  
"Hope for what? That you'll find her? Buffy, we can never give up hoping, praying, but working yourself to an early grave won't help anyone."  
  
"Do you ever think of the prophecy?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"Everyday. I endlessly search through scrolls and ancient texts, looking for an answer, even if it's the wrong one."  
  
"The prophecy says 'the child,' but with triplets, how could it still be true?"  
  
"There were too many specifics for it not to be Wyatt and Joy-their child."  
  
"Why do we never say her name?"  
  
"Why did we get divorced?" he answered her question with a question.  
  
"Because...I don't know. You worked too much; I cried and moped too much. We grew apart in our grief, I guess."  
  
"Is it too far gone to bring it back?  
  
"Angel...I don't know. I-I'm still getting over loosing her. There are days when I barely remember; I just think she's at work, or living her own life, too busy to involve her mother. She doesn't even cross my mind. Other days, I wake up crying, and can't stop. I can't get out of bed, it hurts so much."  
  
"I guess we never say her-Joyce's name, to detach ourselves. If we don't recognize that it's her, by using her name, then it doesn't hurt as much, theoretically."  
  
She was silent.  
  
"You can use the hotel. I'll get some rooms ready."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Goodbye, Buffy."  
  
"Goodbye, Angel." She hung up, and wiped her tears away. Tears for her missing daughter. Tears for her three young granddaughters, orphans. And tears for herself.  
  
The girls said their goodnights, then went upstairs and went to bed, turning off the lights. It had been three weeks since they had started their intense magic program, lots and lots of extra help from their aunts, studying both the Book of Shadows, and the book Grams gave them at night, after they were to be in bed, asleep. They even read farther in their textbooks, and practiced extra. Nowadays, when they went to bed, they would be asleep within moments, on those nights that sleep would claim them, and on others, they were up for hours, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the fickle sleep to come.  
  
Just before the girls had fallen into a deep sleep, a man blinked in, and sprinkled a powder over their faces. Grace scrunched her face, before drifting deeper into sleep.  
  
The man then blinked out, as silent as he came.  
  
"They still asleep?" her sister nodded.  
  
"Maybe they've been staying up too late." Paige suggested.  
  
"No," Piper said, "The Sandman stopped by, I saw him. Let them sleep, they're growing, they need it."  
  
"They're up to something," Paige declared.  
  
"I know. Their grades are the best they've ever been, and we've all been helping them with their individual powers, and Leo's been helping them with whitelighter stuff. I just can't figure out what they're up to yet."  
  
"You're both right. They've been on their best behavior. They're definitely up to something. I just hope it's nothing bad," Piper worried.  
  
Grace stretched, sitting up in her bed, and looked blearily at the clock. Her eyes bulged when she saw the time, before she remembered it was Saturday. They had never slept so late! But then, they had never stayed up so late.  
  
She silently got up and dressed, heading downstairs. She heard her grandparents and aunts in the kitchen, so headed that way. But something stopped her, before she entered the kitchen, or made her presence known.  
  
"Buffy got in touch with me last night," she heard Piper say.  
  
"Oh? What'd she want?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"There's something threatening the potentials again. Willow thought that the girls might also be targets, so Buffy wanted to let us know...She sounded really tired."  
  
"She took losing Joyce really hard," Paige reasoned.  
  
"We all did. Joyce was a daughter to us, before she and Wy ever started going out."  
  
"You think it's something more?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"I do. Andrea and Amanda are almost pulling out of it, they're finally trying to go on with their lives, but Buffy...I just don't know," Piper sighed.  
  
"Guys...Do you think that there is any truth behind the prophecy still?" Paige asked, "I mean, because...well, it was Joyce and Wyatt's child, and they obviously had triplets..."  
  
"I don't know anymore. That prophecy was so terrifying and everything...but we couldn't have screwed up time so much that it wouldn't come true, right Leo?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"I don't see what could have happened to make it not come true. Wyatt was supposed to be a girl, and everyone thought him as that, but still, here's a prophecy, claiming him to be a boy."  
  
"Or Joyce a boy," Piper reminded them. Then a look of confusion came over her face, and she cocked her head, "Grace...? Would you like something to eat?" she called, and she heard a more distinctive sigh from the doorway, and the girl emerged.  
  
"How do you do that?" Grace asked mildly as she accepted the glass of orange juice.  
  
"How long were you there?" Piper asked in return.  
  
"Not long." Grace lied, feeling bad about it immediately.  
  
"Well, come sit down and eat. Are your sisters up yet?" she shook her head as she pulled out a chair. Five minutes later, Piper slapped a plate of cheesy scrambled eggs in front of her granddaughter. "What are your plans for today?" she asked as she started cleaning the kitchen.  
  
"Don't know if I have any. We were thinking of walking to the mall later, but..." she shrugged.  
  
"Are you up for visiting Aunt Willow and the English crew? It's been what...? Three or four months since you last went over?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
Something dawned on Piper, "Maybe she could help you on your search for your mother," she said slowly, putting the pieces together. Phoebe, Paige and Leo stared at her, shocked.  
  
Grace gapped at her grandmother. She wanted to deny it, but knew she had seen the look on her face, and knew that she would be lying.  
  
"Sweetie, you do know that we've tried everything to find her, right?" Grace nodded. "I'm not going to stop you from looking, but don't get your hopes up," Piper ran a hand through her granddaughter's light blond hair.  
  
"I-I know, Grams. It's just...it's like I can almost feel her. She's alive. I know it," she whispered.  
  
"I feel it to, baby, I know," she whispered back, then cleared her throat, "Eat your eggs before they get cold. Would you like more orange juice?"  
  
"What?! How did she find out?!"  
  
"It's not my fault! I swear! She was talking about going to see Will and Ashley, and then she was saying we were looking for her...you know I can't lie!"  
  
"Maybe it's best this way," Faith murmured, to pacify both of her sisters, "No more spells on the sly. She said she was willing to help?"  
  
"No, she said she wouldn't stop us. She never said anything about help."  
  
"Well, it's a start, at least..."  
  
"Grams...can you help me with this?" Grace asked a few days later. They were studying for finals, and she was having the hardest time with her history.  
  
"Sure." She nodded her into her bedroom, where she was folding laundry.  
  
"It's history. We just did a unit on slayers, and...I just can't memorize all the facts. It didn't help that I couldn't concentrate on what Professor Gage was saying..."  
  
"I understand, sweetie. What can I do?"  
  
"Could you quiz me?" "Sure..." she took the paper offered. "ok, so...Who was the youngest slayer called?"  
  
"C-Kishi Mino-something?"  
  
"Carissa Avenhaus, called at age 12. Ok...Who was India Cohen's watcher?"  
  
"Oh, um...Kit...something..."  
  
"Kit Bothwell. In what year did India die?"  
  
"Oh, 1996."  
  
"And which slayer was activated at that time?"  
  
"Grams."  
  
"Good. How many slayers fought against Skymir?"  
  
"Oh, two. , from Barcelona, who was only active for like...ten minutes and....Elanor...Boudrea, from England," she said happily.  
  
"Good. Uh...." Piper scoured the sheet, "Who killed Kendra?"  
  
"Drusilla."  
  
"Right, and last question.... Which slayer was active only one day?"  
  
"Oh, um...Britta...Kessler Lichtermann. She was betrayed by her watcher, and sired in 1923."  
  
"Good. May I ask if you had anything to do with the studying of this topic?" Piper asked with a smile.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Grace said, smiling.  
  
"Anything else I can do to help?"  
  
"No, I know what I need to study. Thanks." She got up to leave.  
  
"Hey, Grace, can I give you an idea? Why don't you call Ashley, in England? I'm sure they have tons more information than your professor does, and you can blow his socks off."  
  
"Couldn't I just find a charm for that?" It was the first time Piper had laughed in awhile.  
  
"Ug," Paige groaned as she threw her car keys on the hallway table. She found her family in the kitchen, "I have never heard of so many people having so many problems!" she complained.  
  
"Tough day at work?" Grace asked, though she already knew.  
  
"You can say that again. Call, after call, after call from people needing demonic help. By nine thirty, we were out of teams. Something wiggy is going on, and I don't like it."  
  
"Maybe we could help," Melinda spoke up, "I mean, we may be young, but we are witches, and my lowest grade was an 89.9 this past semester, which will be rounded to a 90, and I'm always the worst at school. We could help you."  
  
"Yeah, we could answer phones-" Faith jumped in.  
  
"And do research!" Grace jumped in also.  
  
"And that way, you wouldn't have to have others do it for you." The three girls watched in anticipation as their grandmother and aunts conversed silently in a way only close sisters can.  
  
Paige silently asked Piper if it was ok with her, being the triplet's legal guardian, and she gave an imperceptible nod, and the three girls grinned.  
  
"Sure, we'd welcome the help. How about you come with me tomorrow morning, you don't have school, right?" the girls nodded, having taken their last final that day, "And then we can set up a work space for you. You guys can answer phones and do research. I might even be able to put your premonition power to work, Grace."  
  
Grace nodded, "Grams, do you want help cooking supper?"  
  
"Sure, any ideas from the peanut gallery?"  
  
"Tacos," was Faith's idea.  
  
"Cajun chicken," was Melinda's idea.  
  
"I'll think of something," Piper assured them, leading the way into the kitchen.  
  
"I have a column to finish, so if anyone needs me, I'll be in my room," Phoebe headed towards the stairs.  
  
Paige looked at Faith and Melinda, "Well, it's just the three of us, I guess. Do you guys wanna play a board game, or something?"  
  
TBC...  
  
What do you think? Reviews make me work faster! hint, hint 


	5. Revelations

The Dark Years  
  
Part Five: Revelations  
  
Disclaimer: there's one somewhere, hopefully the first chapter. Just in case, I don't own anything.  
  
Posted: July 26, 2004  
  
Author's notes: sorry for taking so long to update, guys! I hope that you all are happy with these four new pages! They've been written for awhile, but this is the first chance I got to type them up! Real kicker at the end, trust me! Mwahahaha!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Looks for reviews...  
  
Looks...  
  
Looks...  
  
Looks...  
  
THERE ARE NONE!!!!! Cries Please review this chapter!  
  
(They're still taking out my dividers so....)  
  
"Hey, guys! Grace called, rushing upstairs sometime after supper that night, "I was looking through some old papers, notes and stuff, and I had....an epiphany!"  
  
"About what?" Faith asked, rolling over, setting aside her book. Melinda didn't even give Grace a glance, so she threw the old paper back at her.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Try paying attention," Faith ordered, "Go on, Grace."  
  
"We've been having a hard time coming up with ideas to find Mom, but we don't even know what happened to her!"  
  
"Well, duh. No one knows, not even Dad," Melinda said, bored. They already knew that. Hardly an epiphany. Faith threatened to throw another book at her, and Melinda orbed it away from her.  
  
"That's the point! What if we cast a spell to take us back to that night? First," she rushed over to the study table, grabbing some scrap paper and a pencil, "You have to determine the goal, basic spell writing, 101. We already know that. Next are materials to use. The best way would be through dreams or visions, less likely to be spotted and screw up the future, or the present. Whatever. I'm thinking maybe an amethyst stone, or something like that," she rushed over to their bins of minerals and dug through to find a good sized amethyst, "Then we have to come up with the spell. Most spells don't even have to rhyme!" she set the amethyst next to her scrap paper and started scribbling hastily.  
  
After fifteen minutes, right after Melinda had gone back to her email, Grace crowed, holding up the paper. Faith read it over her shoulder, nodding.  
  
"That just might work..." she mused.  
  
"Now we just need to figure out who goes," Grace said, looking at her older sisters.  
  
"You," they said at once.  
  
"M-me?!"  
  
"You're the one that came up with the idea, and the spell. It wouldn't be fair if one of us went, "Faith explained.  
  
"Oh, but-"  
  
"But nothing, Grace. You're going," Melinda said, using her 'parental voice.'  
  
"Let's set up," Faith took charge.  
  
"Let me go tell Grams," Melinda rushed out. She came back five minutes later, "Grampa said be careful."  
  
"We will," Faith answered, "Ok, I think we're done. Let's do this."  
  
The three girls sat down on a point of the trinquatra drawn on an old sheet just for this purpose. Blue candles were placed on each of the points where the petals met the circle, with white candles on the inside intersections. Behind Grace was a mound of pillows.  
  
"Great Goddess  
  
Give my spirit wings  
  
So I may fly to the time and hour  
  
My mother was taken from me.  
  
Filly my mind with the memory  
  
Of those fateful hours," Grace chanted. All three girls held hands, feeling the power course through them as Faith and Melinda quietly chanted two words over and over, "Tempus suse, tempus suse, tempus suse."  
  
Give our mother back to me  
  
If only in memory  
  
Tempus suse, tempus suse, tempus suse!"  
  
With the last rendition of the Latin phrase, the candles flared, and the girls could feel the awesome power they could one day control. The candles suddenly were extinguished, and Grace fell back into the mound of pillows, unconscious. If they hadn't let go when they had, they would have fallen with her.  
  
(SCENE BREAK)  
  
A/N: This section is supposed to be in italics. Whether or not allows me to have it in italics is still to be seen. FYI. Any of you who have actually read TNG (I have no way of knowing, since no one reviewed it, I think...) you'll recognize some of the following stuff...  
  
"Well, here we are, our first night in our new home." She saw a man she knew to be her father settle a sleeping baby into one of the three cribs. She looked around, and she recognized the cluttered junk now in the basement; they were in the attic.  
  
"Yup, here we are," A woman walked over to her Dad, placing another infant into a similar crib. The third one was already occupied.  
  
"Tomorrow, we'll patrol, ok? Mom can take them for an hour or so while I show you around," he wrapped his arms around her, before going to pick up their new room.  
  
"I-I want to go alone. You need to stay here and protect them."  
  
"My parents can do that as easily-"  
  
"Wyatt, please. For me."  
  
"Ok. Don't worry." He set the stuff aside and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"I can't help it. I can't sense anything, Wyatt."  
  
"What do you mean?" she could hear the concern clearly in her father's voice.  
  
"In Sunnydale, I could sense the hellmouth, the vampires stalking the street, the demon bar three blocks away. Here...there's nothing."  
  
"That's good, right?"  
  
"No. It's too quiet. The calm before the storm. It's not natural." He turned her around in his arms, stroking her hair. She placed her head against his chest. Grace could feel her confusion, and her father's concern.  
  
"Everything'll be fine. I promise. Come on, bed time for Mommy." He led her over to the bed, and she crawled over to her side. He slid in next to her and took her into his arms once more. "Everything's going to be just fine." She heard him murmur before the next thunder crash.  
  
Suddenly she was in the dinning room. Her Dad, Mom and Grams carefully held a squirming baby while they ate.  
  
"It's almost dark," Grace looked out the window to see that it was true, "I should be going." Her mom stood up. Phoebe took the baby from her, and she headed upstairs.  
  
"Excuse me a moment," her father said, standing up and following her. Grace felt herself being dragged after her parents, but that was the way she wanted to go anyway.  
  
"If you still feel off, don't go!" she heard her father cry, seeing him jiggling the fussy baby he held through the door.  
  
"But I have to. Slayer's don't get days off."  
  
"But an off day could kill you!" the baby was reacting to the tension and started to cry weakly.  
  
"I have to take that chance," she went over and kissed him, "I love you, and I love our daughters, but I've learned over the years that destinies must come first." She caressed the child's soft hair, "Goodbye, Gracey. See you later."  
  
Grace leaned against the door jam as her mother started to turn, even though Grace knew she couldn't see her.  
  
"Goodbye, I love you," her dad told her mom. She picked up a bag full of weapons and started to leave. Grace backed even further from the doorway.  
  
"Oh," Joyce stopped just outside the door, and Grace felt a hand grab hers and squeeze, "Don't wait up for me," she flashed him a joking smile. She then turned, and as she walked away, Grace heard, "I love you, Grace. Tell your sisters I love them too." But her mother didn't stop or look back.  
  
Once more Grace felt herself tugged behind her mother, like a string attached them. Her mother started talking as soon as her feet hit the sidewalk.  
  
"I knew something felt off last night, and then I finally realized what it was, Grace. There were two of you. I've always been able to tell you three apart by the way my spidey senses react to each one, and last night, I felt the tingle that I've always felt around you, and then I felt one much stronger, deeper. I was awake most of the night, and even today I wondered why you'd come back from the future. And then it hit me. Something must happen to me. Tonight, even.  
  
"And you being the resourceful girls are, and I know you will be, sent one of you back to find out what.  
  
"I know you're there. I can feel you. You're about the only thing I can feel in this damn town. Tell-" her voice cracked, "tell your Dad and your sisters that wherever I end up, I still love you. I always will."  
  
"We love you too, Mom!" Grace cried, placing a noncorporeal hand on her mother's shoulders. Joyce stopped, and smiled, "C-Can you hear me?" Grace whispered, but then she felts something totally wrong in the pit of her stomach. She doubled over in pain as she saw something step out of a solid brick wall. Its face was twisted into the visage of a vampire, but it was gray, and Grace knew it was ancient, and not just by it's clothes.  
  
"MOM! RUN!" she screamed, but she didn't move, "PLEASE! RUN!" she sobbed.  
  
"Grace?...What's wrong? You feel...different. God, this city's screwing up my radar."  
  
"RUN!" Grace screamed one last time. Her bones shivered and her blood turned to ice in her veins as the thing stepped through her. It took out a gun that looked odd in it's ancient hands, and zapped her mother from behind. She didn't even make a sound as she crumbled.  
  
The vampire picked up her mother and headed back through the brick wall. Grace tried to pick up something to throw at it, but she went right through things.  
  
As her mother's limp body passed through the brick wall, she felt herself transported back into her own body.  
  
(SCENE BREAK)  
  
(END ITALICS)  
  
She awoke with a sob.  
  
Her two sisters were right there, knowing that their sensitive youngest sister would take it hard.  
  
"She knew!" she sobbed, "She knew."  
  
"It's ok, Grace. Shh," Faith rocked her sister.  
  
"NO! It's my fault! All my fault!"  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
She looked up at her sisters, tears streaming down her face, "Mom knew I was there! And she knew why. She told me...to tell you...that she loves you...and she always will. It's all my fault! She was focusing on me, and not her surroundings!"  
  
"No, Grace, it's not your fault. Did she at least put up a good fight?"  
  
Grace shook her head, "She didn't have time! The gray vampire literally came out of a brick wall. He shot her with a tranquilizer, and carried her back through the wall. There must have been a time loop or something."  
  
"Wait, exactly what did this vampire look like?" Melinda asked, getting up and pulling out the book their grandmother had made for them.  
  
"Gray, almost white skin, old clothes. I could tell the thing was ancient."  
  
"Why, Mel?" Faith asked, still sitting on the floor with Grace.  
  
"I've been going through Gram's book. I've always been a visual learner, and I was kinda hoping that if I could memorize the pictures and the demon's names, then you guys could remember the vanquish," she started flipping through the book, "Here it is. Gram's nicknamed it an Ubervamp. She wrote that it's an agent of the First Evil, and incredibly hard to kill."  
  
Faith walked over, "The info on the First is in the beginning. Grams put all the major evils first." Melinda flipped through, "There. It says that the Charmed Ones vanquished it before Mom was born."  
  
"Do you think these Ubervamps have their own agenda now?" Grace asked.  
  
"More than likely the First Evil wasn't destroyed, just banished. I don't remember seeing the spell in the BOS. And God knows we've looked in there enough, with all the games Gramps and Natasha had us play," Faith mentioned their first whitelighter, assigned when the Elders though Leo couldn't guide both the Charmed Ones and Charmed Ones The Next Generation. Natasha had been reassigned when they had turned 10 and it was clear they were in little danger. It was almost as if they weren't even a blip on evil's radar screen. The girls still missed Natasha on occasion, like now.  
  
They used to play a scavenger hunt type game with the information in the book until she was reassigned.  
  
"Should we go ask Grams? She would know why it's not in there," Melinda suggested.  
  
"I think we should go tell Grammy Summers what we know, and ask her," Faith said.  
  
"No, this is something we have to do on our own!" Grace said with conviction, "We've been living under the umbrella that is our Grandparents for too long. They've tried everything they could think of, and they've had thirteen years to find her. This is our turn, guys. They can't help us; we're on our own. They'd just tell us we're too young, and then we'll never find her."  
  
"Well, what about Uncle Spike? He's in the very back of the book, where Grams put things she wasn't really sure of where to put, like Grampa Summers, both being once vampires. He's a self proclaimed rebel," Melinda said. She loved Uncle Spike for his rebellious nature. And Melinda seemed to be his favorite, imparting some rebel ways in her thirteen-year-old mind.  
  
Faith nodded, "I think he'd understand. I agree with Grace, this is our time to shine; to prove that we're not kids anymore. Call me a thrill seeker, but maybe we're the only ones that can get Mom back. I think Uncle Spike would help us."  
  
"So, to Uncle Spike's?" Grace asked, and her two sisters nodded.  
  
"GRAMS! WE'RE GOING TO SUNNYDALE!" Melinda yelled.  
  
"BE BACK BY CERFEW!" was the reply.  
  
"BE CAREFUL!"  
  
"Let's go," Faith took her sister's hands and they all pictured Spike's comfortable, yet messy, apartment. Then they orbed out of their room.  
  
Halfway there, something hit Grace, on the end, and she was forced to let go of her sister's hand. She landed roughly in a smelly, dirty, dank ally. It smelled like Gram Summer did right after her divorce when Grace was four and a half, where she didn't come home until three in the morning, and had passed out on the stairs.  
  
A figured landed in the trash opposite her, and she figured it was what had hit her. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light, and her first look at the figure made her breath catch, her heart freeze, and her spine dance as shivers of dread ran along it. She felt like she had landed on ice cubes, in ice water, as her powers kicked in, and touched the evil figure. With double capital 'e's.  
  
"Mom?" she croaked out as the figure shimmered out.  
  
TBC....  
  
And this time I'm thinking about ransoming my chapter....With this being a free activity, reviews are my wages, and with no reviews, I'm one sorry writer!  
  
Please review! 


	6. Bloody Angels and Promises

The Dark Years

Part Six: Bloody Angels and Promises

Disclaimer: see the first chapter or so.

Posted: August 10, 2004

Author's notes: Sorry for such a long wait, guys. I've been really busy. We have a new puppy, and she's a handful and a half, and I have a new Buffy/Angel fanfic archive that I'm trying to get up to par. If you'd like to submit any fics, or know someone who's a B/A obsessed, or if you would sign up to be a beta reader (we seriously need those) then check out the site here: .

Comments, suggestions and the like are also welcome!

Shameless plug, I know!

Oh, and supposedly fixed the problem where they were taking out my dividers, so I'm gonna try with just them. Can someone please let me know if they are actually there? If they're not, I'll fix it and repost the chapter....

Reader Responses:

Melanie: hm...bribery...I like it! And about the reviews, I'm as stumped as you! It's probably being the fourth part, no one wants to read the first three....

And to your review of TNG: Thank you! I'm not the only one who thinks that some of my stories could seriously use a makeover, lol. Yeah, I'd have to say most of the improvement is due to the Creative Writing course I took last year. I wish I was taking CW2 next year... But thanks for your review!

BuffyAngelfan32- I'm actually not holding any of my chapters for ransom at the moment. is not letting me log in, and therefore I can't update! WAH! If you haven't figured out the mastermind as of yet, then you should be close to figuring it out by the end of this chapter. rereads quickly Yup, you should definitely figure it out this chapter, and if not this one, then the next one should be the dead ringer, lol.

And that's ok about not reviewing until now, just don't do it again, lol, ok?

Thanks to TrickStarr for reviewing as well!

Huh, we lost some reviewers from last time, and gained three, I think....but we lost a lot more, lol. Hopefully we haven't lost readers...

"Don't you bloody angels ever knock?!" Spike growled as he charged out of his bedroom. He stopped short when he saw the two girls, "Oh, it's you. Sorry. Bloody angels, or guardians or whitelighters or whatever, been bugging me half to death. They've figured out I killed two slayers in my day," he almost sounded proud. Melinda couldn't help but smile a bit, "They think I had something to do with your mum's disappearance." He stopped a moment, giving them a queer look, "Where's Quarter Pint?"

They looked to where she was supposed to be in shock.

"Where is she?" Faith asked, a touch of panic in her voice, "Oh, great! I was supposed to be watching you two! As the oldest, by like two freaking seconds, Gram expects me to watch you two!"

"I'm right here," the whispered shocked all three as they turned to see her curled up in a corner, knees up to her chest, arms wrapped protectively around them.

"What are you doing over there, niblet?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

"I-I saw her. I-I read her. She-she's evil," she looked up and they saw the terrified tears in her pretty eyes.

"Saw who, Quarter Pint?" Spike kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her knee.

"Her."

"Grace, no. It was just someone that looked like her," Faith hastened to pacify her youngest sister.

"I know what I saw, Faith! I saw Mom, and I read her! She's evil," she whispered the last part, not wanting to believe.

"You saw your mum? The original half pint?" Spike stood up, shaking his head, and began to pace.

Grace nodded.

"That's what we were coming here for," Melinda said, "We did a spell that sent Grace back to the day Mom was taken. We learned that an...Ubervamp took her."

"Impossible! We slaughtered the buggers."

"But we know what Grace saw. There was a picture in the book Grams gave us. You must have missed one. Or not all of them were there."

"Do you know what spell was used to get rid of The First Evil?" Faith asked.

"Nah, I was juiced up on a spell of my own."

"What?"

"Oh, it was this whole four thing. Head, heart, spirit, hand; combine them all in the hand, and you've got yourself a serious demon killer. Willow would know, she came up with it, or cast it...It's all hazy in my old age," he shook his head, "But you think the First took your mum?"

"Yeah. The book said that the First was unkillable, so the Charmed Ones probably cast it into purgatory or something."

"But you're too afraid to ask them, because you think you're biting off more than you can chew, and you know they know it."

The three girls nodded, caught. Even Melinda, the queen of lying, couldn't lie to Spike. He saw through everything.

"Though so," he sighed, sitting down in his thick, overstuffed chair. He dug into his breast pocket and pulled out a crumpled, rumpled pack of cigarettes that had definitely seen better days.

"You smoke?" the three girls asked as one, shocked.

"Has anyone ever told you how eerie that is?" he sighed, "Andy wanted me to quit, since they could actually kill me, and I did, but at times like these..." he stared at the crumpled pack a moment, sighed, and stuffed them back into his pocket, "It's dark times when the duty to save the world falls on three thirteen year olds. Dark years these have been..." he sighed.

"Don't tell Andy I said this, but without your mum in this world, things seem darker. The sun don't shine as bright, the sky's not so blue. Doesn't help that the strongest force of good I've ever known has split, given up hope. And don't let your granddad know I said that, he'd think I was going soft in my old age,' he started to sigh, realized just how much sighing he had been doing lately, and stopped.

"What can I do to help?"

"Thank you!" the three girls chorused, rushing up and hugging him.

"I knew I was going to regret this. What have you done so far?"

They told him of their exploits thus far, from calling spirits, studying extra hard, getting extra help to their most recent spell.

"The only thing I can think of, besides talking you're your grandparents, would be talking to someone who was there. Red would turn you in...Faith, try calling upon your namesake. If I know her at all, she'll help."

They had to leave soon afterwards, to make it home by curfew. "For God's sake, be careful. Keep me in the loop, ya hear?" they nodded and said goodbye before orbing home.

"Faith, do you know what he meant?" Melinda asked as they dressed for bed.

"Faith Abrams, I think. She was the second slayer after Grams. She died in prison when Mom was fourteen or fifteen. Her death activated Mom," Grace supplied, "She broke out of jail to help Grampa with something. Aunt Willow was sketchy about that part."

"So, we doing a summoning?" Melinda asked.

"Why not? I'd like to meet her."

"Go tell Grams, Grace, while we set up," Melinda said, heading towards their candle bin.

"W-What should I tell her?" she stuttered.

"We're doing a spell. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, I'll do it!" Melinda said, leaving the room.

"Is she mad at me, Faith? I didn't mean to make her mad."

"No, she's just frustrated," Faith sighed, "You're the smart one, Grace. My grades don't even compare to yours, and Melinda has to try extra hard to even think of competing with me. No, let me finish," she said as Grace opened her mouth to argue, "you seem like you're so much brighter, older at times, but then you're afraid to tell the tiniest of lies. To Melinda, whose first words were lies pretty much, it seems so childish. It's intimidating, to have your youngest sister be so ahead and behind at the same time."

"I-I'm sorry."

"No big deal. Let's set up." They placed the candles in a circle on the floor. Melinda came back, and they stood before the candles.

"_Hear these words, hear our cry,_

_Spirit from the other side_

_Come to us, we summon Thee,_

_Cross now the Great Divide."_

The lights swirled around inside the candle lit circle, and a figure soon appeared, wearing a tight black tank top, that was cut way too low, and black leather pants.

"Well, look what we've got here," she looked the three girls up and down, "You three are the spittin' image of some pics I saw of your Mom when she was young. What can I do for ya?"

"We wanted to know about your fight with the First Evil."

The woman looked at them suspiciously, "You think the First took your Mom," she said slowly.

"N-no!" Grace stuttered.

"Aw, came on. You're little campaign is all over the other world. There are even bets on who you'd call up. Never thought it would be me," she almost sounded proud of the fact.

"Now, let's see...First Red went and grabbed the Charmed Ones. Then when time came, this coven came from England and showed up and did this whacked spell. Best high ever.

"Your Granddad beat the shit outta this Beast dude. Ended this Rain of Fire thing, then we went to help B in Sunnyhell."

"Do you know anything about the spell Grams did on the First?"

"Nah, everything's kinda blurred. Ask your Grams," they shifted uneasily, "Ah, so the Rent's don't know, huh? It might seem like a good idea now, but they are going to find out, and then you'll be in a shit load of trouble. Trust me, been through it a couple times."

They nodded, having no intention of telling Grams.

"I've got to go. I don't know nothing, but if I find someone who does, I'll let you know. B's a good person, and Joyce was a sweet kid. I'm sorry I can't help." She nodded to them, before disappearing.

They got ready for bed, and turned out the lights. While Faith and Melinda dozed off immediately, Grace tossed and turned. She couldn't get that final scene out of her mind.

After an hour of failing to sleep, she threw back the covers and pulled on a pair of sweats. She threw a couple pillows under her blankets, a trick her sisters used on occasion. It had never worked on her, but she hoped her sisters wouldn't look to closely.

She orbed downstairs, her spare key on a lanyard around her neck. She let herself out, double-checking the stake in her back pocket. Being able to use the pointed wood was one of the first self defense techniques each girl had learned.

Her feet took her in long strides down the walk and in the direction her mother had taken that night. She stopped and touched the brick wall. Solid. She stood in the middle of the street as the scene flashed through her mind once more.

She remembered the exact place her mother had crumbled, and she knelt on the deserted pavement.

The shivers she had felt in the alleyway came back to her as she knelt on the cold pavement. She touched the area hesitantly. She knew her sisters thought she was cracking, but she knew what she had seen earlier that night. She knew what she had felt.

She felt a premonition coming on; a new power compared to her empathy, which she couldn't remember a time without, and she closed her eyes.

She was in a small apartment, and she saw a blond figure sitting in a rocking chair, holding a squirming bundle. She gazed down at that bundle so lovingly, Grace felt like an intruder upon the scene.

"Shh, Grace," the woman murmured, beginning to hum, "I love you, baby, shh... Mommy's here. I'll always be here, shh..."

Grace was sitting back on the cold, rough tar, and slowly the tar beneath her bent form blackened, wet.

"That was a stupid thing to say. You couldn't know. And you're not," she murmured, sniffling. She opened her eyes and stared up into the stars, "I'll find you, Mom. I promise."


	7. Hogwash

The Dark Years

Part Seven: Hogwash

Posted: August 19, 2004

Disclaimer: see first chapter

Author's notes: these are going to be long, guys, sorry. First off, I really owe you guys an update, and this is all I have ready to update. School's approaching fast, and I have a lot to read to finish up my summer reading. Lucky me school doesn't start until after Labor Day (Sept. 6th, fyi).

The other day I realized that it would be a good idea to know the ages of some of the people I'm dealing with, and I was shocked to find out how old some of the characters are getting. Here's a run down on the ages, just so you know. Sorry for not describing most of the characters as their age, I seriously thought they were younger! Some ages aren't exact, such as Angel's, and the Charmed Ones. I just guestimated.

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordy- 59

Dawn-53

Angel- 62

Piper- 64

Phoebe- 61

Paige- 59

Wyatt- 37

Joyce- 36

Amanda, Andrea- 33

Ashley- 34

Connor- 56

Anne, William- 22

And of course, Faith, Melinda and Grace- 13.

If you don't remember some of these characters, don't worry, they're all coming back to haunt- I mean grace us with their presence soon. I didn't figure out Leo or Spike's age, I'm not even sure if Leo ages, let's say he does, and Spike's about 34ish.

Also, I wasn't holding these chapters for ransom before, but as we get back into school and everything...I'm a good girl! I'm a mostly honors student, and I don't smoke, or do drugs, though some of my friends do, and I'm not a slut, and I'm not going to have premarital sex...I just want a few measly reviews! Reviews are my drugs, they're what keep me writing, and I need them. Please, take half a minute to click on the little button at the bottom, left hand corner of your screen, and just let me know you're there!

The end is coming fast now, I almost have it all written, if not typed up, and I'd hate to deprive you of it...This is going to end in a shocking way, guys. Don't make me be the mean, icky author!

Reader Responses:

BuffyAngelfan32- thanks for your review. It took me a long time to get where I am, and I'm hoping that I'm still improving. Lots of hard work, lots of time, and a lot less sleep than I should get, lol!

START OF STORY

"Don't fight it," Phoebe advised, sitting across the table from Grace. The table, two chairs, a ripped shirt, and themselves where the only things in the room. AI San Francisco needed something, anything, to go on for the case of a mysterious death of a teenaged girl.

"I'm not trying to!" Grace cried, frustrated. They had been trying for half an hour. She wasn't good enough to have a premonition at will. And of course it had to be her, because she wasn't that good. It was all training to her aunts.

"When I first got my powers, it took me years to learn to control it, and even now, sometimes it doesn't work. I didn't get empathy until nineteen years ago. I believe in your Grace, I know you can do this." Grace got the message loud and clear. Yet again, she was ahead, and yet behind someone else. She could never be herself, she was always being compared to other people.

Aunt Phoebe dragged her chair over next to Grace, grabbing a chunk of the pink shirt, "Concentrate," she closed her eyes, and Grace did likewise.

_A young girl looked cautiously around, before crossing the street. She looked to be in her early teens, Grace knew her to be fourteen. Someone or thing reached from the shadows, and the girl squeaked. A blade slid from the darkness and flew across the girl's throat. The body was then released, and it slid to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere._

_Grace felt her aunt pull back, but she couldn't pull loose as the murderer stepped from the shadows. The same dancing shivers tangoed up her spine as she looked up at the blood splattered face she had seen so many nights in her dreams._

She was released from the vision as a tear ran down her face, quickly followed by more.

"I'm sorry, baby. That was a hard premonition," Phoebe wrapped her arms around the girl, not knowing the true reason for her tears.

"SAN FRANSISCO-

"Dana Margaret Childes, fourteen, snuck out to meet one of her friends late Tuesday night, but never made the rendezvous. She was brutally murdered not a block from her downtown home. The police have no leads at this point," Buffy read out loud as Andrea fed Josh some scrambled eggs. She threw the paper down, frustrated.

"What is it, Mom?" Andrea asked.

"She was a potential slayer. We have to get those girls to safety. Now!"

"Are you going to LA to protect them?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah. I'd like you three to come with me-"

"Not everyone can leave the hellmouth. Spike and I will stay here, to keep an eye on things. The demonic world will have a field day if everyone goes tearing off for some other place."

"No-"

"Mom, nothing's going to happen to me, or Josh."

"If I lost either of you-"

"Spike would never let anything happen to me. You and Amanda go, and I'll have Spike move in here while you're gone."

Buffy sighed, "Are you sure? You haven't seen your father in ages."

"Positive. You've been bugging me to do something about Spike, and the hellmouth needs protecting. And he can get the taste of fatherhood he's been itching for."

"I think he's been itching for you, not the baby," Amanda said cheekily.

"Amanda!" Andrea cried. Their mother just laughed.

"What?! You were thinking it."

"So?"

Grace kept the vision to herself. Faith and Melinda didn't think she had seen Mom in that alley, and she knew Aunt Phoebe hadn't seen the last part. No one would believe her.

And she was starting to put things together. Grams had told them that Grammy Summers was going to LA to protect a group of girls. These girls had the potential to become slayers, Grams had explained. Something was attacking them, and killing them. Paige had told her before that the girl in her premonition, Dana, was a potential slayer.

Grace knew that that had been the First's plan, by killing the potentials, and then the slayers, the slayer line would be wiped out. And with her vision, she was finally starting to see the big picture. She just didn't understand how.

One day, a couple days after her vision, during her lunch break, she went to tell Uncle Spike her suspicions, because she had to tell someone. But he wasn't at the apartment. On a whim, she orbed to the house on Revello Drive. She knocked on the kitchen door.

"Hey, Grace. Long time no see," Andrea hugged her, "You on your own today?"

She nodded, "Uh...is Uncle Spike here?"

"Yup," Andrea grinned, "let me go get him."

When he saw Grace, he offered to take the baby for a walk, inviting the thirteen year old along. Andrea knew something was up, but she let it slide for the time being. It was the first time in thirteen years that what they had lost wasn't foremost on her mind.

She reminded him of seeing her Mom that night, and then told him of the vision. "The First is attacking potential slayers again-" she started to tell him her worst suspicions.

"And it's using your mum as an assassin," Spike finished for her, "Grace, this is serious. Your sister's don't know what you think, do they?" she shook her head, caught, "Grace, this is huge! You can't keep this a secret anymore! Last time, it took two souped up slayers, two super strong vampires, the four strongest witches in the world, the super watcher and the glorified bricklayer, a whole bloody coven the size of a....a huge coven, forty five potential slayers, oh, and the whole bloody lot of those bloody angels, to take the First out the first time! Do you really think three Sabrina's can do a job they had trouble with? Bloody well not!" without reading him, she could tell he was pissed. He almost never used so many 'bloody's, and he'd never called them 'Sabrina's before. "If you don't tell your grandmums about this, then I will. This is no longer talking about finding your mum, this is talkin' about the soddin' First!"

"What's the prophecy?" she asked suddenly, mostly to try and make him forget.

"What?"

"I heard Grams talking about a prophecy concerning us. I hoped you'd know."

"Prophecy, prophecy, whatever it is, they didn't care to share with me. And I ain't lookin' to find out. And don't think distracting me is gonna work. I mean it. Tell your Grams, or I'll do it for you."

She nodded, the only thing she could do, defeated.

"Where'd you go? We saved you a sandwich," Melinda offered it to her.

"I'm not hungry," she sat down across from them, "Awhile ago I had a premonition of Dana's death. Aunt Phoebe saw most of it, but she didn't see the end, where I saw the killer's face. Mom's face."

"How?!" Melinda asked, outraged.

"I don't know. But something is targeting the potentials slayers, and Mom's killed at least one. And the First kidnapped her."

"The First is using Mom to kill the potentials."

"Some how the First must have brainwashed her," Melinda spoke up.

"The First was able to attack the slayer line the first time because Grammy Summers had died twice, and yet still lived. I think that the First can target them once more is because there are now three slayers, Mom, Grams, and the new girl in New York. The slayer line is messed up again-"

"Still."

"I-I went and told Uncle Spike about my premonition. I didn't think you guys would believe me. He thinks that I'm right, and...he said that it's far too dangerous, and if we don't tell Grams....he will."

"What?"

"No!"

"We're so close though!" Faith cried.

"I know! But he thinks it's too dangerous!"

"Grownups are always saying that," Melinda complained.

"We're in over our heads," Grace parroted one of his reasons.

"Hogwash! We've been training our whole lives, for something! This is it!"

"Grace," Faith said slowly, "Do you think you could get a premonition of the next attack?"

Grace looked shocked and frightened at the idea, but she looked at her two sisters, both so brave and she forced herself to swallow her fear. She nodded, "I-I think I can. I can try,"s he said with more conviction.

"We have to get this done. Mel, how's your control coming?"

"G-good. It's coming. Or going...not sure where, though. It just kind of goes..."

"Wait, we're not-"

"Not on Mom, but who knows what we might run into."

"I don't want to be pessimistic, but do you really think we can do this?" Grace asked.

"I don't think there's anything we can't handle when we're together," Faith took her sister's hands and squeezed.

"There you are, Lazy Bunch," Paige teased, sticking her head through the door, "Lunch's over. Do you think I'm paying you to sit around and gab?"

"I don't think you are paying us," Faith jabbed back as Melinda directed their trash into the wastebasket. "We'll talk later, guys."

All three headed off to their specific tasks.

TBC...


	8. Losing Faith

The Dark Years

Part Eight: Losing Faith

Posted: September 2, 2004

Author's notes: Hey guys! Long time no update, and I'm sorry about that. The story's just about over, and I'm gonna try to be more frequent in my updates!

Recently, while writing the next few parts, I had to go back and update my Age Chart, and I was surprised to see how old some of the characters were getting! Some of the ages are just rough estimates, but here's the chart, in case you care, and I'm sorry I haven't been describing them as well as I could, I kinda forgot time has moved on!

Piper: 64

Angel: 62

Phoebe: 61

Oz: 60

Buffy, Willow, Xander: 59

Paige: 58

Connor: 56

Dawn: 53

Wyatt: 37

Joyce: 36

Ashley: 34

Andrea, Amanda: 33

Anne (Will's girl), William (Dawn's son): 22

Faith, Melinda, Grace: 13.

So those are the ages. Can you believe how time flies when you're miserable? I'm not even going to calculate Spike's age, or Leo's. They're about the same age as Piper and Andrea, respectively.

And I'm not sure if is still taking out my dividers, something I'm getting very sick of, so I've made sure you know where the scene changes...

Disclaimer: see first chapter.

Reader Responses:

BuffyAngelfan32: thanks for your review! Yet again, you're the only one who's reviewed, so this chapter is dedicated to you! Thanks for giving me my review I needed!

And, just so I can see what you're thinking, how do you expect this to end? Lol...I want to see how shocked you're gonna be, since I never expected it to end the way it is, lol.... THANKS!

(START OF UPDATE)

"I-I did it," Grace told them later, in their room, "Somewhere in Sunnydale, I think. I recognized the area. Tonight, the moon looked full."

"Faith, you have a plan, right?" Melinda asked, sounding nervous.

"Mom should be coming alone. I'll freeze her, if someone comes, Mel, you and I will take care of them while Grace orbs Mom to safety."

"But she's evil. How are we going to make her...unevil?" Grace asked.

"It can't be by choice. I've been trying to think up a spell that would give her free will back. I haven't gotten all the details, but the spell would give Mom her free will bak, and she'd choose not to be evil."

Melinda pulled the hot plate out from under her bed, and a bunch of herbs, "I'm gonna try to brew up a sleeping potion, or freezing potion, just in case your freeze wears off, leaving Grace in trouble."

"Good idea. I think there are some power double-er spells in the book, wouldn't be a bad idea for Grace to have those as well."

"I'm gonna go for a walk, see if I can pinpoint the area," Grace said, grabbing a coat.

"And I've got spell duty," Faith said, "Be careful, Grace."

"I will."

(Scene Change)

They hid behind some boxes in an alleyway. The building in from of them was an old rundown club, boarded up for as long as they could remember. The faded sign faintly read "Bronze."

Nobody questioned Grace about the location. It was time to trust their powers. Her premonitions might have been the newest of their powers, but so far it was the most reliable.

Ten minutes to eleven, a petite teen, of about sixteen, walked out of the boarded up club. She was all in leather, and her hair was shockingly black, with fire engine red tips. Her ears were pierced multiple times, as well as her nose, eyebrow and bellybutton.

Grace nudged her sisters as the teen lit a cigarette. She counted each movement as it came, waiting for the murderer to show up.

She saw the teen flip her hair, just like she had in the vision, and then she saw the figure slide into the shadows. She pointed hurriedly to Faith.

Then everything was moving too fast for her to think. Melinda squeaked and threw up her hands, only to fly over the pile of boxes. Faith spun, only to go flying as well. Then it was just Grace, against some unseen forces, with no physical powers of her own.

She heard rather than saw the knife slide across the girl's throat, and the pain almost brought her to her knees. Then something hit her in the back of her neck, and her knees did give out as the darkness swallowed her.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Piper rolled over for the tenth time in the last three minutes.

"What's wrong?" the arms around her asked sleepily.

"Something just doesn't feel right," she sighed, "I'm going to check on the girls."

"You just checked half an hour ago. They're safe, and asleep."

"You're always telling us to trust our instincts. I'll just be a minute." He sighed as she pulled on her robe.

Two minutes later he heard frantic feet on the stairs. He sat up, alert, as she burst into their room, no longer whispering.

"They're gone."

(SCENE CHANGE)

"I can't sense them," Paige told her sister.

"Neither can I," Leo told her, his voice tight. It was four am, five hours since Piper found the empty beds. They sat in the kitchen, all in various states of dress.

"Try again!" Piper paced, close to hysteria.

"Honey, why don't you-"

"Don't give me that honey crap. Find them, Leo."

"Maybe we should tell Buffy," Phoebe suggested, setting down her crystal, "She might think of something we haven't yet."

"I'll go," Paige said, "Why don't you guys get dressed?" Paige orbed to the old LA hotel.

"Leo, keep...sensing!" Piper ordered, continuing her pacing.

(SCENE CHANGE)

The knock came through the darkness, and instantly she was awake. Her first thought was something had happened to one of the potentials, but when she saw Paige at her door, in nothing but a tank top and matching boxers, she started shaking her head, disbelievingly.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Piper bustled about the kitchen, getting everyone breakfast. Or lunch, as the case may be. Everyone and their cousin was in the solarium, trying to be useful.

"Bollicks!" she heard the British tinged voice exclaim. Andrea and Spike must have arrived.

"Piper!" Leo called urgently. She threw down her oven mitts and rushed to the sunroom.

"I should have known," Spike muttered as she entered the room.

"What is it?" Angel growled. Even with his hair a thick gray, he was threatening.

"The girls confided in me. Knew it wasn't right, but I figured at least someone was keeping tabs on them-"

"Get to the point, Spike, or so help me God..." Buffy threatened, her own locks shot with gray.

"Awhile ago, the pints did a spell that took Grace back to the night Joyce disappeared. With that handy book you gave them, they identified the kidnapper as an ubervamp.

"They got to thinking that the First wasn't gone, just banished, stuck in some hell dimension."

"Oh, God," Buffy's knees collapsed, but Angel was there to steer her towards a chair. Piper leaned heavily on Leo, who seemed like he was going to fall over himself.

"Grace also supposedly saw Joyce, and got a real good, not so good reading on her. And yesterday she told me about a premonition she had of Joyce killing that potential, Dana."

The room irrupted in argument.

"I told her to tell you," he said, turning to Buffy, "I swear. I told her that if she wouldn't tell you, I would. I thought it would be enough..."

"I believe you," Buffy whispered. The arguing continued, as she closed her eyes, trying to get her emotions in check.

(SCENE CHANGE)

She groaned, rolling over, only to have a hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes flew open, and thought of struggling flew from her mind at the view. She didn't know what she was looking at, whether it was floor, wall, ceiling, or just black emptiness. Two hands helped her sit up, and she was shocked to notice that what she had been looking at, the thing that seemed to go on forever in inky blackness was what she had been laying on.

Faith, her other hand over Grace's mouth, placed a finger to her lips. Melinda slowly moved into her line of sight.

What's going on? Where are we? 

No clue. We've only been awake ten minutes, tops. 

This place rocks though. 

Mel, concentrate. We need to find a way out. 

G-Guys! Grace motioned towards her left...right? Who could tell direction in this type of place?

Two figures were now there, one kneeling before the other. The standing one was a blonde, and Melinda thought she recognized her from the book Grammy Summers gave them.

The other blonde, the kneeling one, they knew to be their mother, even if all they saw was her back.

They couldn't hear what was being said, but the blonde switched bodies, into their grandmother, and then, like changing clothes, into a vampire they all recognized from the book.

The First. they thought at once, looking at each other, with fear and uncertainty in their eyes.

(SCENE CHANGE)

"I vote for pounding some demons until we get some info."

"We're not as young as we used to be, Connor," Angel told him. Age had been plaguing him for years.

"I say we round up the usual informants, Willy, Clem, Merl. Leo should check with the Elders, and-"

"He's tried. They don't know anything," Piper interrupted.

"I'm not about to just sit around! I lost their mother, there's no way-"

"We lost her too, Buffy," Dawn wrapped her arms around her sister, "We'll find them, don't worry."

"That's what we said about Joyce!" Buffy broke down, sobbing. Willow wrapped her arms around the blonde slayer as well.

The room was silent a moment, before Willow spoke up, "Piper, maybe you should try scrying for them again. I'm going to activate the locater spell on their necklaces."

"If you wanna get your ya-yas out, Connor, there's a nest of about ten vamps downtown. With all this potential stuff, haven't gotten a chance to clean then you yet," Paige told him.

"We can't give up hope," Dawn said, her voice slowly losing the British accent she had acquired over the years, "If three thirteen year olds could figure out that the First Evil took their mum, then we can figure out how to get all four of them back."

"Dawn's right. The First wants us broken, wants us hopeless. We can't play into its hands," Willow agreed. Angel wrapped Buffy in his arms, without thinking, as Willow moved away to do the spell. Buffy leaned against him, drawing comfort from his embrace like so many times before.

TBC...

Author's Note: the more reviews, the faster I type....

Oh, and just a bit of advertisement, lol...I am currently writing a story, a challenge, really, that is the most bizarre challenge I've ever seen. It entails Buffy being pregnant season six, and running away. The child she carries is Connor's TWIN sister... How? Even I'm not too sure yet, but if you'd like to read it, let me know, and I'll start posting bit by bit here! If you can't wait, then check out this link, where I've posted it on my site: ?action=getmessage&mview=0&IDMessage=432&LastModified=4675487196146129922. That will take you directly to the message...Feel free to add some comments, but you'll have to join the site first, sorry!

blackbeltchic


	9. Growing Up and Helping Out

The Dark Years

Part Nine: Growing Up and Helping Out

Disclaimer: See first part.

Posted: September 9, 2004

Author's notes: I've decided that my pleas for reviews just aren't going to happen right now, so this is for my faithful reviewer.

Oh, and I'm sorry if these are so short, but with the way I have them figured out, I don't want to give it all away, all at once!

Reader Responses:

BuffyAngelFan32: Do you really think me that cruel? If you really want a hint, go back to, oh...the fourth or fifth chapter, I think I gave someone a real big hint there...Chapter Four, the first review response.

And they're still taking away my dividers; now it's personal.

(START OF UPDATE)

"So," the First looked up at them suddenly, noise suddenly carrying, "The Brat Pack has awoken." She shifted into a dark haired woman, then same vampire she had taken the form of before, "So," she glided over to them, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't see your little game coming? I am evil, evil came from me, and I have been around longer than that pitiful world you live in," she condescended in the body's cockney accent.

NOW! Faith said suddenly, and Melinda brought up her hand, with a bit of smoldering paper scraps, ready to blow them into flame.

The First waved her hand and the paper and ash blew away, "Your magic tricks won't work here."

"What do you want?" Grace said, her voice surprisingly steel, "Why don't you kill us already?"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, you silly girl."

"Then let us go! We can't harm you!" Faith spoke up.

"But that's not very fun."

"You're plan was smart," Grace said slowly, "Using a slayer to kill the potentials."

"Of course it was. And the best part is, the more she kills, the deeper she sinks, and," she snapped her fingers, and their mother stood and turned, showing them her anointed forehead, "The stronger I become."

The Harvest. I read about it in Gram's book. This Master vampire used a minion to gain enough power to escape his prison. He anointed the minion, the vessel.

The only way to deplete the First's strength is to....kill the vessel. 

Mom all three stated.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Diana switched Josh from one hip to the other. She hadn't truly felt apart of the circle, yeah, she cared about the girls, but she knew she couldn't be of help. So she took the assortment of kids into the living room. She was currently keeping tabs on Josh, Andrea and Spike's baby, her own nine and twelve year olds, Ashley's four and two year olds, and Cordy's ten and twelve year olds, though she and Xander weren't a couple, they just lived together.

"Diana, where's Grace?" Stacy, Cordy's twelve year old asked, and that's when she realized that no one had told the kids why they were here.

"We're not sure, honey," she said reassuringly.

"Diana, where's Faith? I have a new Barbie, and she said we could play together next time I was here," Rachael, Ashley's four year old, asked.

"Guys, come here a minute," the six kids gathered around, "Faith, Mel, and Grace are missing. Your mommies and daddies are looking for them," Myles, Ashley's two year old wrapped his arms around her leg, and she knelt down to put one arm around him, "I need you guys to do something for me, ok? I need you four," she looked at Stacy, Deana, her twelve year old, Brian, Cordy's ten year old, and Alexia, her ten year old, "to help me with these guys, and I need you two," she tickled Rachael, before putting her arm back around Myles, "to be good. Mommy needs to help find Faith, Mel and Grace, and she's going to bring them home safely. Ok?" The kids nodded.

"Hey, uh, Rach, did you say you have a new Barbie?" Deana asked, and Diana knew she was stretching because Deana had given up Barbies three years ago.

The four year old nodded.

"Do you have enough so I could play too?" Alexia asked, knowing what her sister was thinking.

"Do you have one more?" Stacy asked, pasting a smile on her face.

The shy four year old broke into a huge grin and raced off to get her bag.

"Aunt D, do you think it would be ok if me and Myles play catch in the house?" Brian pulled a plush baseball from a nearby bag of toys.

"I think it would be ok, just this once, ok?" she looked at Myles, who nodded. The two ran off to play in the front hall. "I guess it's just you and me, sweetie." Josh looked at her over his binky, with solemn eyes.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Mel Grace alerted her, slipping her hand behind her back. Melinda did the same. Their bodies, huddled close together, hid the blue orbs as the bottle exchanged hands. throw it...now! 

Melinda threw the potion at the First, who was going on about something or other. She had wanted to play professionally, and had been the pitcher on her softball team, until her newest power started getting away from her when she lost. The potion hit the figure squarely in the solar plexus.

The First shook off the freeze quickly, it's face turning onto a thundercloud, "Get them!"

Five ubervamps appeared out of nowhere, charging the three girls. The First retreated a bit, picking up an ornate dagger on the table nearby, playing with the blade as she watched.

"Our powers work!" Grace told her sister as she ran towards one of the vampires, her hands extended. Did she have any offensive powers, no. But something was running through her mind, something Aunt Phoebe had once told her, at one of the family reunions, where everyone's emotions had been too much for her. A spell played through her mind, she didn't know if it would work, but she had to try.

She planted her hands firmly on the demon's chest, and quickly recited the spell.

"_What's mine is yours, _

_What's yours is mine_

_Let our powers cross the line _

_I offer up this gift to share _

_Switch our powers through the air."_

She felt her grasp on the emotions around her weaken, and then she couldn't feel them at all, and she let loose. The fear and confusion of everyone's pity when she was younger; learning that all families weren't like hers; the pain and betrayal of the secrets kept from them; the pain at losing her parents; she let it all out. The vampire's head started to shake, and then it imploded. She felt her empathy jump back through her hands, now holding only ash, and with it the tools to lock her pain away again. Focusing on the hurt would only get her in trouble.

As two ubervamps rushed her, Melinda focused as hard as she could, sending one against the wall, as she dug into her pocket for paper scraps. She held them out in front of her, closing her eyes, seeing the bits alive with licking flame. She blew on the spark she felt in her hand gently, feeling it crackle into life. The flames didn't really burn, only tickled.

Her eyes flew open as she felt the wind created by a fast moving demon, and she almost lost the flames she held. She caught her slipping concentration as she lifted her hand and blew the flames into an inferno, engulfing the vampire.

She breathed hard, stamina almost gone as she smiled at the ashes. Grampa said that eventually she wouldn't need the paper scraps, but for now her budding pyrokinesis needing kindling.

The second Ubervamp, who had been advancing on her, backed off, circling her.

"Baby!" She didn't know if it would work, but... "Bat." Her trusty metal bat orbed into her hands. She crouched into a batting stance, "Come and get me, ugly!" she yelled at the Ubervamp. He growled and advanced on her. She summoned all of her remaining power and gauged the distance as he rushed her. Then she stepped and swung, forcing her telekinesis into the bat.

Her bat connected with the base of the skull, and the head went flying off as the body crumpled.

"Oh yeah! Home run, baby!" she crowed.

Faith tried, in vain, to pinpoint what she was trying to blow up. Not the hand, or arm, or singe the ubervamp's chest. His head! Finally she froze him, and hoped the freeze would last. Over and over again she tried to blow off his head, and she had almost succeeded when he unfroze. She jumped back, freezing him once more.

"Faith!" Melinda called, and Faith knew what she had in mind. She jumped and did a crappy flying sidekick, as Melinda gave her the boost to send her foot through the vampire's neck.

All three looked at each other, to see if someone needed help.

"Grab them!" two upper-class demons and Joyce shimmered in behind them, grabbing them. Each held a knife.

TBC...


	10. Reunions

The Dark Years

Part Ten- Reunions

Posted: September 20, 2004

Disclaimer: see first chapter.

Author's notes: I am so sorry for the long wait. If you haven't read my bio in awhile, the only thing I've been able to update, I am currently without Internet at my house. I check my email every couple of days, either at school, or babysitting, which is where I am now. I am fortunate to baby-sit for some very nice people! thankfully, I once again have internet! Email took up most of yesterday, though, sorry!

We are now nearing the end of this story. There are a maximum of three updates left, probably only one or two. If you want to give me suggestions on how to end this thing, I would do it now.

Oh, I've figured out why they've taken my dividers, doesn't support such characters, so I've found new ones! HURRA! But those don't work either...grr! Hopefully these will work!

They do! YAY!

:P :P :P :P :P

"Nothing," Willow reported, "But they are wearing the necklaces, so as soon as they come back to this plane, I'll know."

"Thanks, Will," Buffy said, her voice tired.

"We'll find them," Angel murmured from behind her.

" I can't do this, the agonizing worrying, and waiting, and thinking the worst," she murmured, "I can't just sit here."

"We'll find them," he told her again, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "The good guys always win, and we are they. We'll find them."

Diana entered the living room, where the group had moved to, "Rach, Josh and Myles are upstairs, asleep, and the older kids are set in the kitchen, reading, drawing or writing," she told them, headed towards Connor. She leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. None of them were as young as they wanted to be, "You're stinky," she murmured, and Connor squeezed her slightly.

"So, what do we do now?" Piper asked from her seat on the couch. Her two sisters were on either side of her, and Leo was behind her, his hands resting supportively on her shoulders. "We can't just sit here. I can't just sit here," she jumped up, "Anyone want anything? Food, drink? Something, anything?"

"Sit down, sweetie," Paige pulled her back onto the couch.

"You've gone above and beyond hostess. Just relax," Phoebe told her, wrapping Pier's right hand in her own.

"I can't relax. If I relax, then-then I'll lose it. I-I can't just sit here, or-or else-" she bit her lips closed, and squeezed her eyes shut against the tears.

"Shh, sweetie," Phoebe wrapped her arms around her sister from one side, and Paige did the same from her side.

"It's ok to cry," Ashley told her from her place on the floor, almost lost in the texts she was going through at a fevered pace, "We'll understand." She looked from Piper to Buffy. There were murmurs from the others, agreeing.

"No, I can't, I'm the slayer."

"No, you're the grandmother. Family comes first," Angel told her.

"Does it?" she asked, glaring at him. He looked away first. In her anger, she had almost forgotten her tears.

:P :P :P

The three girls froze.

"Kill them," the First ordered Joyce. She withdrew her blade, and placed it to Grace's throat.

The tears came silently. She hadn't even told her grandparents how much she loved them today. She hadn't told her sisters how much she looked up to them. She hadn't said thank you to Grams, for taking care of them all these years.

"I love you, Mommy," she whispered, as the tears splashed onto the woman's arm.

For a moment, she was free. She didn't know where she was, or what she was doing, but for the first time in 13 years, how she knew how long, she didn't know; for the first time, she was completely herself. Her green eyes lost their black tint, as she remembered exactly what was going on.

"What's taking so long? Kill her already." The girl in her arms was limp as she looked to the vision of the crazy vampire.

She looked down at the blond girl in her arms, and her two struggling sisters, one with a tint of red in her hair, and she almost gasped at the pain the realization caused her. Her grip slackened just a bit before she tightened it again.

"Hold tight, Grace," With the lightening speed of the slayer, she slid the blade along her throat, before releasing the girl to sit, stunned, on the black floor. She shot out her arm, releasing a rope of fire that hit the two demons, now standing without a shield. Faith and Melinda, once realizing Grace was safe, orbed to their sister's side.

"What? NO!" The First stares in shock as things started to go wrong.

"Why don't we try it my way?" Joyce said, in the First's ear, sliding the blade across the demon's throat. "Don't ever come near me and mine. Ever again." She could feel the evil leaving her, just as the First lost her strength, and her strength over Joyce, and she used her vile powers once more, for the last time, setting the mess of demon ablaze. She watched it, fascinated, as it burned.

Her daughters rushed to her, crying, and for the first time since she had been kidnapped, she embraced her girls, her face wet.

"You're so smart, and beautiful. I love you! I love you, I love you," she murmured through her tears as he clung to them for dear life.

"I love you Mom," all three of her precious girls said as one, a symphony to her tired ears.

She smiled, wiping away Faith's tears, "Let's go home, my precious girls," she sniffed, wiping her own tears away.

:D :D :D

"No, I have to be strong. I won't cry," she said, sniffling, trying to fight her tears. She heard a small pop.

"They're back in this plane!" Willow cried, "They're-"

"Here." She stood as blue orbs started to congregate in the middle of the living room, right over the coffee table. She kicked it out of the way as Piper stood. Everyone moved back slightly, to give them room.

When the four figures became solid, Buffy cried out, her knees collapsing on her.

"Mommy!" Joyce cried in relief, rushing to hug her mother.

"Joyce!" her sisters cried, tears streaming down their faces as they rushed her.

"I love you guys!" she cried, trying to embrace her mother and sisters at the same time. Tears streaked her face as she helped her mother up. She felt someone help her, and she looked up into his brown eyes, "Daddy," she breathed. He grabbed her and held her body against him tightly. She couldn't breathe, but she cried in relief as he held her.

"Well, bits, ya did it. I'll be damned," Spike grinned like a Cheshire cat as he hugged the three teenagers. Joyce rushed over and hugged Piper, then Leo, Phoebe, Paige, and everyone else in the room. All the women were crying, and Leo, Connor and Spike were as well. A couple of the others looked misty eyed.

While she was hugging everyone, Andrea had left the room.

"Joyce, I'd like you to meet Joshua, my son," Andrea showed her the barely awake baby.

"Aw..." Joyce hugged her sister again. Then the other kids were introduced, and it wasn't long before she was in tears again, "I-I missed so much!" she turned to her three girls, "Especially you three. I-I'm sorry!" she hugged them tight, crying into their hair.

Then someone orbed in behind Joyce.

"Wyatt," she breathed, without letting go of her girls.


	11. Homecoming

The Dark Years

Part Eleven: Homecoming

Posted: October 10, 2004

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Note: This, as well as many other stories, are nominated at the Primordial Souls Awards. Just letting you know! The link, as well as the other stories, are in my bio!

Author's Notes: I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting, but I did get more reviews than I have been getting lately!

There is one more touching chapter after this, and then we're done. I hope you guys have enjoyed the ride, and I hope that you will give me at least one more review before we are done!

Sorry, but I don't think there will be a sequel. Nobody has asked for one yet, but this is the fourth and final part of this series, and I don't think my muse can handle anymore, no matter how much I love these characters. There might be short ficlets when I feel like writing them, and I will let you know about those if and when they come...

Reader Responses:

Carol: I'm sorry for leaving it like that for so long! I'm glad that you read the others, and I'm glad that you enjoyed them!

BuffyAngelFan32: Good, I'm glad you don't think me that mean. Sorry for the long wait, here's the second to last installation!

TrickStarr: Well, it got you to review, didn't it? I'm sorry about that huge cliffie, or whatever it was. At the time, it felt like the worst place to stop, and those are some of the best places! And if it gets people to review, then I win!

Author's Notes Cont: I just remembered that I should give credit where credit is due: the songs mentioned are: Here for the Party, by Gretchen Wilson; Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler; I Swear, by John Michael Montgomery; God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You, first version, to my knowledge, done by either NSYNC, or Backstreet Boys (can't keep those guys straight!) second version done by Alabama; I Could Not Ask For More, by Sarah Evans.

The Pixies were the 'band' my two friends and I went to our 8th grade Halloween Dance as, I had to substitute a friend, but that's where that comes from. I think it was the Pixies, anyway...

* * *

"I-I-I thought...I'd never see you again..." he whispered, not believing what he saw.

Everyone quietly slipped out of the room, until it was only Piper, Leo, Buffy, Angel, Joyce, Wyatt and their girls that remained.

"I-I thought you were...dead."

She turned to him, standing, "I'd never leave that way without telling you, you know that," she whispered. He tentatively reached out a hand to touch her face, before pulling her possessively to him.

"I love you," he breathed.

"I love you."

Slowly he let her go, and he turned to his three beautiful, strong daughters, "I-I'm sorry," he said finally, after looking each one over from head to toe.

"We love you, Daddy. We never stopped," Grace said, and all three raced to him, and he wrapped his arms around them.

Once they let him go, Melinda pulling Faith away from him, he turned to his parents, "I-I should never have left them, never should have left you to raise them alone... If you can ever forgive me..."

"We love you, we always have," Piper said, staring at her son, tears in her eyes.

"We only wanted you to be happy. That's all we've ever wanted," Leo told him.

"I'm sorry Mom," he stepped over to her and hugged her.

"I missed you," Piper murmured in between her tears. She let him go, though she didn't ever want to, and Leo hugged his son.

He then turned to Buffy and Angel, his face tear stained, but reddening from shame, "I've done your granddaughters harm in not being here for them all these years...If you can ever find it in your hearts..."

Buffy hugged him, "Welcome home."

"I-I don't deserve your forgiveness-"

"We understand," Angel said, "We've all done things these past years we regret." He looked at Buffy, and she avoided his eyes. He too hugged Wyatt.

"Is everything in here ok?" Phoebe poked her head into the room. When no one answered, she rushed in, quickly followed by Paige, Andrea and Amanda. Each took a turn hugging Wyatt, and then Joyce, and then the girls.

And then everyone came back in, and it was noisy, and crowded, and both Wyatt and Joyce started to feel flustered, and stressed. It had been over thirteen years since they had been around such crowds.

Grace saw the uncomfortable glances between her parents, and felt their stress. She went over to Grammy Summers, and whispered in her ear a moment.

"Hey, guys! Attention please!" Buffy called, "I want to thank all of you for staying with us during these last, horrible hours of worry, and I'd like to invite you all to a welcome back party in..." she looked at Angel, Piper and Leo, "A week? At the hotel-"

"At P3. It will give me an excuse to clean the place up," Piper interrupted.

"At P3, I'll get you guys more information later, but, ah, right now I'd like to spend some time with my daughter."

People got the hint, and most asked if they could stay at the hotel. Leo and Paige, and even Sam, who came to see what the hubbub was about, orbed everyone there.

Buffy, Joyce, Wyatt and Piper squeezed onto the couch, not minding the close quarters. The three girls sat on the floor, resting on their parent's legs, wanting to be as close as possible.

Buffy played with Joyce's hair, "I missed you so much, baby."

"I missed you too, Mom." But she knew it was a lie, after the first few days, she had no memory of any emotions at all.

"So, the First is gone, for good?" Dawn asked. Ron had gone back to the hotel with William, both knowing how important it was for her to be with her sister and niece.

"Yeah," Joyce murmured, running her free hand through Grace's hair, much like her mother was doing with her.

"Yeah, Mom killed it," Melinda said, beaming. Grace and Wyatt were the only ones to feel her flinch at the word.

"Mom vanquished it. It's different."

"How?" Buffy asked gently, and Joyce let out a wavering breath, knowing the story had to be told sometime, but she didn't want to tell it right now.

Faith started the story, with Melinda interrupting her every so often. Grace silently monitored her mother's growing stress.

"It was Grace who figured out the First was bluffing about our powers," Faith said, beaming up at her grandmother.

"Yeah, she saved the day!"

"No, I didn't," Grace shook her head.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have broken free," her mother bent down and hugged her, before taking over the story. The telling was hard, and she broke down around the end, but there were no interruptions until she was finished.

Phoebe looked at Grace a moment, lost in thought, "Then I guess the prophecy was right after all," she murmured from behind Piper.

"Prophecy?" Joyce, Wyatt, and their three girls asked.

"Opps," Phoebe looked appealingly at Piper, who just glared.

"Mom?" Wyatt asked, confused.

She sighed, "Ron found this prophecy when you were 16, about you, Joyce, and your child."

"But we were only teenagers then..."

"That's why we didn't tell you, sweetie, because she didn't want to pressure you," Buffy said gently, "When the girls were born, we hoped it was wrong, but..." everyone looked at Grace.

"What? You think I completed some prophecy? N-no, not me. Faith, or-or Mel-"

"You're the one that came up with the spell," Faith told her.

"And you saw Mom in that alley."

"That was- that was a fluke!"

"And you had the premonition."

"And figured out what was going on."

"And saw through the First's bluff."

"I'm not the prophecy fulfilling kind!" she argued, "I'm not special, or-"

"Don't ever think that," her mother said, a bit too harshly, "You are a bright, talented, special, one of a kind girl. Don't ever measure yourself with someone else's standards. Though you three look the same, except for this," she held up Melinda's red highlights, "You are totally different people. Just as different as your powers. Do you understand?"

Grace nodded.

"Uh, Mom?" Wyatt looked at his mother, "I hate to interrupt this little lesson, but is there any chance we could have an early supper? They're not big on sustenance up there."

"Oh, of course! I bet you're all hungry!" Piper jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. Wyatt moved over a bit, and Joyce followed him, resting her head on his shoulder.

* * *

She stood there, watching them sleep. It was past midnight, but she couldn't help it.

"Buffy," he alerted her to his presence, voice not even a whisper, "it's late."

"They're so peaceful. I can almost pretend..." she looked at the three smaller beds pushed together.

"Leo's going to take us back to the hotel. Come on." She let him pulled her down the stairs.

Once they were in his room, they said goodbye to Leo, before she headed for the door.

"Buffy," she stopped, her hand stretched towards the doorknob, "stay."

"You said you'd never leave me, but you did," she said, her back ramrod straight. They had never really talked about it before.

"I also said I'd love you forever, and I have, I will. Please."

She turned to look at him, tears once more in her eyes, "Promise?"

"Always."

It was an old routine then had once been used to, and they fell into it again, getting ready for bed. He wrapped his arms around her, and she used his chest for a pillow, reveling at being near him once more.

"I love you."

"I love you."

* * *

The club had never looked better. The band, an up and coming threesome known as the Pixies, was currently playing an old country favorite, Here for the Party. Couples littered the floor, rocking to the up-tempo beat.

It had cost a pretty penny to get the club ready, including insect and other pest eradication, new floors, updated lighting systems, and a whole new liquor selection, but it had been worth it to Piper. The sign outside read, "Grand Re-Opening," with a simple, tasteful banner near the Nook that declared, "Welcome Back Wyatt and Joyce." People, most they didn't even know, came by to welcome them back home, and to ask about certain rumors they had heard. The official story was they had been shipwrecked off of Madagascar, with no money, and no way home.

Tons of kids danced on the outskirts of the dance floor, while the younger adults tried to out dance each other; the older adults just watched in amusement.

"So, how are you adjusting?" Buffy asked, sitting next to Joyce and Wyatt in the nook.

"It's...tough," Joyce said finally, looking at Wyatt for agreement.

"I believe it," Buffy put her hand on her daughter's knee, "It's great to have you back."

"Are you and Dad..." slowly but surely, they'd been caught up on what had happened while they were gone. It grieved Joyce to learn that she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Giles or her roommate.

"I hope so, honey. These past years have been hell without you three. I wouldn't have been able to get by if it weren't for your sisters."

"I'm glad some people were able to move on with their lives, even if I missed so much."

"Whether they went on with their lives or not, they missed you. They never forgot about you."

The song ended, and the three young adults onstage launched into an even older song, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Wyatt looked at Joyce as Angel came to collect Buffy. The two couples walked onto the dance floor as the blonde onstage began to sing. The three singers must have known the three couples dancing nearest the stage were something special, because they went from one song to another, I Swear, God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You, I Could Not Ask For More, and so many more as they danced in each others arms.


	12. Epilogue

The Dark Years

Epilogue

Posted: October 27, 2004

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Author's notes: Sorry for making you wait so long guys. I've been grounded from non-homework computer time (as if that ever works) and I recently realized that at Twisting the Hellmouth, they were only up to Chapter Seven of The Next Generation, so I've been trying to get them caught up. They still only have Chapter One of the Dark Years, and I'm trying to get Stolen Innocence up as well.

So, here we are, the final chapter of this series. We've gone from a, well, a 23ish year old Buffy to a 60 year old grandmother, and from her being alone, to her having four grandchildren....

Thanks to all who have read, and all who have reviewed. Your comments were all wonderful.

And if this chapter seems a bit vague, it's meant to be that way. See if you can guess what I'm talking about before I reveal it, and then let me know your thoughts by reviewing one last time! All reviews are sent to my inbox, so I will get them, no matter if you review in half an hour, or in two years from now!

Thanks so much!

READER RESPONSES:

Trickstarr: Where's Spike? He's around somewhere....and NO! There will not be any more stories after this! God, my muse is about ready to shoot me for just thinking it....

I'd like to, but these stories, and this universe is so messed up as it is, my time would be better spent editing them! Maybe, someday, I might decide to write a ficlet or two, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Sorry.

BuffyAngelFan32: Thank you for your reviews! You were one of my biggest reviewers throughout this story!

And no more, no matter how much everyone begs....unless I get over 25 reviews FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE asking for more, then maybe....

The two flutes played the march in harmony as the three fourteen year olds walked down the center aisle. There had been argument after argument about who would walk that walk, and in the end, the honor had been given to them. They could not ask for a better gift.

The oldest - by about a minute - dressed in the lightest pink dress they could find, carried a rose so red it was black. The middle girl, dressed in a light blue the same shade as her sister's, carried a vibrant scarlet rose. Their youngest sister, in matching pale yellow, carried a single white rose, as she walked in front of her sisters.

They beamed at the assemblage of family, and those so close they were considered family. The youngest couldn't help but grin a bit wider, if possible, at her aunt and uncle in the first row, a gorgeous ring on her finger, and a slight bulge in her stomach.

They reached their predetermined positions, as the flutes changed tunes as the audience stood, their uncle balancing Josh on his hip.

The three women that graced the room with their presences were the women the three teens loved the most. Though two were aging, they were the most beautiful women in the world, dressed each in white silk. The matching gowns hung off their shoulders with a low neckline; a more grownup version of the sheaths each of the three girls wore. The dresses showed off the women's figures perfectly. The three men standing at the front of the room stood a bit straighter, and the youngest girl blushed at the intense love, with a touch of lust, that radiated from the six people she cared about most.

Once the women reached the front of the room, the man at the dais started to speak. "Undying love is what gathers us here today, in the eyes of the Lord..." Grace tuned out the voice as she watched the three couples. She didn't come back from her blissful thoughts until her paternal grandmother began to speak.

"These past fourteen years have been the hardest of so many hard years. I'm proud to be standing here with you again. You are my life, my love, my soul mate."

"When I first saw you, I knew I loved you. I never guessed we'd be standing here today, like this. We've had our share of hard times, it's true, but I wouldn't change a thing in all these years, good or bad, that you've been my wife."

Grace smiled at her maternal grandmother, waiting to hear what she'd say, "All those years ago, when I was but a child, I gave you my heart, and though you keep breaking it, I give it to you again, to do with what you wish, because there is no me, without you." She stared passionately up into his eyes. Grace could see her grandmother's much younger self staring up at him.

"Love was the last thing on my mind when I promised to guide you through this world, but now I don't know how I survived all those years, or these past ten, without you in my life."

Graces eyes filled with tears, and she heard her sister sniffle as all eyes turned to the last pair.

"You've seen me through my best and my worst, when I was young, old, sick, and well. All those years ago, I pledged myself to you, and I do it again this day."

"You've known me forever, you were there in my times of trouble and need, as my best friend, my girlfriend, and my wife. You've given me three perfect girls, and never asked for anything in return. I'm under your spell, and I promise I'll love you for forever, and beyond if you wish."

The three girls, in their exuberance, clasped hands as the preacher announced solemnly, "I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

They followed the three couples out, waiting on the people within to assemble at the bottom of the steps. The three sets of newly weds stood at the front of the crowd.

"Life," Grace tossed her white rose onto the bottom step once everyone had quieted down.

"Love," Melinda intoned, throwing her rose on top of Grace's.

"Death," Faith tossed her rose to land on the other two.

"Live together; love each other; die when your time comes. Forever in love, so mote it be," the three girls chanted as one.

"So mote it be," the assembly repeated.

The girls couldn't think of a better birthday gift.


End file.
